Science and Pets: Are We Close to Extending Dogs' Lifespans?

For anyone who has shared their life with a dog, the greatest wish is for that bond to last longer. However, the average lifespan of dogs—between 10 and 13 years—has barely changed in decades, and large breeds continue to die prematurely, often before the age of 8.

Today, biotechnology is beginning to offer answers to this reality. Companies like Loyal, Rejuvenate Bio, and the Dog Aging Project are working on therapies that seek to extend the healthy lifespan (healthspan), not simply add years to the calendar.

The goal: to delay the biological mechanisms of aging, improve quality of life, and reduce the incidence of age-related diseases such as osteoarthritis, diabetes, and heart failure.

Founded in San Francisco by biotechnologist Celine Halioua, the startup Loyal has attracted global attention for its rigorous approach and potential impact.

Its most advanced project is a pill called LOY-002, currently in clinical trials with more than 1,000 dogs participating in the US as part of the STAY study.

The goal is to demonstrate that the treatment can add at least one year of healthy life to older dogs by delaying metabolic decline and strengthening cellular functions.

The first patient, an 11-year-old Whippet named Boo, marked the beginning of a historic experiment. Researchers are taking saliva and blood samples to create a biobank that will support future research into canine longevity.

Scientific Recognition and Regulatory Advancement

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted LOY-002 an unprecedented designation: “Reasonable Expectation of Effectiveness.”

This is not equivalent to approval, but it does indicate that preliminary results are promising and that the agency believes the drug is likely to work.

“We are closer than ever to being able to offer a medical tool to help dogs live longer and better lives,” Halioua told The Washington Post.

If all goes according to plan, LOY-002 could reach the market by the end of 2025, with an estimated price of less than $100 per month, subject to veterinary prescription.

In addition, Loyal is working on two other complementary treatments:

• LOY-001 – an injection aimed at large breed dogs, designed to reduce levels of IGF-1, a hormone linked to growth and accelerated aging.
• LOY-003 – an oral version of the same approach, intended for regular veterinary use.

A global movement for canine longevity

The Dog Aging Project, supported by the NIH (US National Institutes of Health), is exploring another promising avenue: rapamycin, a compound that has shown the ability to prolong life in mice and could have similar effects in dogs.

In parallel, European research—reported by Labiotech and The Guardian—is exploring therapies based on senolytics (drugs that eliminate aging cells) and genetic modulation, opening a broader conversation about shared aging between humans and animals.

According to Wired, these studies not only seek to improve the health of dogs, but also to generate data applicable to human aging, since dogs share habitats, diet, and diseases with their owners.

Ethical and veterinary implications

The advances generate both enthusiasm and caution.

Veterinary organizations emphasize that, although the science of animal longevity is promising, the long-term side effects, interactions with other medications, and variability between breeds are still unknown.

Furthermore, equitable access will be key: if treatments are expensive, they could create a gap between those who can afford longevity and those who cannot.

Still, the transformative potential is undeniable. “If we can extend the time dogs spend active, happy, and pain-free, that's a game-changer,” notes British veterinarian Dr. Steve Dale in The Guardian.

Toward a New Era of Animal Welfare

The next few years will be crucial. If the trials confirm its effectiveness, we could be on the verge of a preventive revolution in veterinary medicine: moving from treating diseases to managing aging as a modifiable biological process. As a director of one of the laboratories investigating this project put it, "We don't want dogs to live forever. We want them to live well for longer."

And perhaps, in the process, we will learn how to do it ourselves.

Sources: The Guardian, The Washington Post, Wired.