The 20-Year Dog: Inside the Biotech Race to Pause the Canine Aging Clock

Biohackers. Longevity gurus. Wellness influencers. What do they have in common? Most place a focus on optimizing physical and mental health and performance, while maximizing lifespan along the way. Longevity is big business these days, from lifestyle and habit adjustments to complicated cocktails of supplements and nootropics.

So it’s no surprise that the people embracing these longevity strategies want the same for their furry best friends. After all, wouldn’t more time with their dogs be a natural extension of their own well-being? Perhaps, but it doesn’t come without criticism from veterinary professionals and animal ethicists.

The Current State of Longevity Drugs

When it comes to longevity in humans, there is no shortage of potential solutions on the market. One of the most popular is the off-brand use of FDA-approved drugs, like rapamycin. Another approach is to ‘stack’ a variety of supplements, which require no FDA approval, to combat the biological signs of aging. These are often referred to as ‘Golden Year’ supplement stacks.

Whether someone chooses one, the other, or both, it is a marked change from the traditional approach of reactively treating aging symptoms. These efforts aim to proactively avoid those symptoms in the first place.

Rapamycin

Rapamycin was first approved by the FDA in 1999 for use as an aid to prevent rejection in organ transplant patients. Since then, it’s been approved for additional uses. None of them has to do with longevity.

However, the drug has been linked to improving cell functions that impact the aging process. It has been successfully tested in mice, demonstrating a nine to 14 percent lifespan increase. In fact, repeated trials of rapamycin use in mice show that they live longer and healthier on the drug.

One recent study, the PEARL trial, studied rapamycin’s use in humans. It found that the drug showed early clinical evidence that low-dose rapamycin may help support physical and emotional well-being in older adults.

Golden Year Supplement Stacks

While there are many different ‘stacks’ available to combat the biological signs of aging, how they work is generally the same. They all aim to boost NAD+ levels and reduce cellular inflammation. That inflammation is widely considered to be one of the primary drivers of the aging process.

NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is an enzyme found in all living cells. NAD+ is the oxidized version and is responsible for transferring the energy from the food you eat to your cell’s mitochondria, the force that generates cell energy. That energy helps your cells stay robust and healthy.

In addition to energy production, NAD+ also boosts proteins that protect the body from aging. These proteins are SIRTs and PARPs. SIRTs repair damaged DNA and regulate cellular health. PARPs fix damage caused by UV light and toxins. Without adequate levels of NAD+, neither protein can function correctly.

As you age, NAD+ levels drop by about 50 percent every 20 years. This loss is a primary driver of muscle loss, cognitive decline, and mitochondrial dysfunction. One purpose of ‘Golden Year’ supplement stacks is to boost NAD+ levels. Popular supplements included in these longevity stacks include NMN, resveratrol, and quercetin.

How the Longevity Movement Applies to Dogs

With many people so committed to finding ways to extend the quality and duration of their own lives, it isn’t surprising that the trend has expanded to their pets. The movement to find longevity solutions for canine companions has become nearly as popular, and new solutions are emerging to meet the growing demand.

In fact, canine longevity–also known as veterinary geroscience–is a big focus of biotech companies today. Loyal, Arterra, and Leap Years are three brands leading the charge.

Working together with the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, Loyal is working to secure FDA approval for their line of longevity drugs designed to extend a dog’s healthy lifespan. The company is working on three different solutions.

LOY-001 is for dogs seven years and older that weigh at least 40 pounds and is administered by a veterinarian as an injection. LOY-002 is designed for senior dogs of nearly every size and supports healthy aging by targeting metabolic dysfunction. LOY-003 is for dogs five years and older that weigh at least 60 pounds and is available as a daily pill prescribed by a veterinarian.

Two universities, the University of Washington and Texas A&M, are also studying dog aging and potential drugs to combat it. The Dog Aging Project is currently running the TRIAD clinical trial to test rapamycin in aging dogs. Funded by a 2024 grant from the National Institutes of Health, the study’s goal is to assess the effects of the drug on better heart health, improved mobility, prolonged cognitive function, and increased lifespan.

Dogs from across the United States are currently taking part in the trial. To qualify, dogs must be at least seven years old and weigh between 44 and 220 pounds. Each dog participates for three years, and owners must agree to bring their dog to a clinical site every six months, among other requirements. The study is ongoing, and anyone interested in having their dog participate can start by completing a short survey.

Other companies, like Arterra and Leap Years, are taking a different approach and going with the supplement stacking route. Their products rely on the same or similar supplements, including quercetin and resveratrol, as the human ‘Golden Years’ supplement stacks.

The dog-focused supplement stacks work in the same way as the human versions, targeting hormonal or metabolic dysfunctions that accelerate aging. These companies emphasize the effectiveness of combining multiple ingredients to distinguish themselves as providers of solutions for canine longevity and quality of life.

The Ethics of Extending a Pet’s Life Through Science

There is no doubt that veterinary geroscience is here and likely not going anywhere soon. After all, most people with dogs want their companions with them for as long as possible. It’s also clear that the question is no longer “can we do it?” but “should we do it?”

The answer to that second question depends on who you ask. Those in the bioscience realm say it should be done because it can help slow the onset of age-related diseases. This gives dogs a higher quality of life by delaying typical age-related illnesses like arthritis, cancer, and heart disease.

They also point out that some large breeds, like Great Danes, have unnaturally shortened lives due to selective breeding. Proponents argue that using modern medicine to address this deficiency is an ethical application of science.

Not surprisingly, bioethicists take a slightly different view.

Jessica Pierce, a bioethicist and author of several books about dog behavior, argues that a focus on extending a dog’s life may overlook something more important. “Dogs are already living lives that are not aligned with their natural instincts to bark, sniff, and roam,” she notes. When they can’t behave like dogs because it annoys their human companions, the dogs’ stress levels are elevated, and their quality of life suffers.

Wanting to extend those already stressful years is something that doesn’t make sense to her. “Focusing attention on prolonging their lives rather than enriching their natural years doesn’t align with a dog’s best interest,” she says.

Likewise, she questions whose needs are being served with the advent of longevity solutions for dogs. “Dogs can’t give consent, and they have no choice about the treatments they receive,” she says. “These longevity options are really about what humans want and, more importantly, what they want to avoid.”

She doesn’t believe that being a senior dog should be viewed as problematic or as something to avoid or delay. It is a natural part of the animal’s lifecycle and should be respected. In her opinion, “It’s not the years lived but the quality of the dog’s experience from their perspective.”

Her question to any dog owner considering longevity treatments is, “Just because we can do something, should we do it if it doesn’t honor the dog’s integrity of life?”