New Drug Makes Your Dog Live Longer
For all the joys that dogs bring into our lives they also bring a lot of pain and sadness.
The harsh reality that this animal you love like family has such a limited time to spend with you feels unfair. Most of us would do almost anything to give our loved floofs even a little more time with us being happy and healthy.
That option isn’t far off if start-up company, Loyal makes good on their work to develop a drup that will make our dogs live longer, healthier lives.
Loyal is a part of Cellular Longevity Inc, and their goal is to study the aging process in dogs and develop drugs that can help slow this process. Eventually, the company hopes to translate some of this information into human drugs as well.
With release dates of their first pills expected in 2024 and 2026, longer lives for our furry companions may not be so far off.
The Secret to a Longer Life
Epigenetics. This term has been floating around in the scientific community for a while and is starting to make its way into mainstream media.
But, what exactly is epigenetics and what does it have to do with aging? Well, to understand epigenetics we have to understand a little more about DNA. Now that is a term you are most likely familiar with. DNA controls everything about us; our eye color, height, and predisposition to diseases. It’s the unchangeable code that makes up each of us.
This is where epigenetics changes everything we thought we knew about how DNA works. Epigenetics translates to “above genetics” and looks at how outside factors such as environment and nutrition affects our DNA. We now know that molecular tags attach to DNA and tell our bodies what is most important and what can be skimmed over. After all our brain tissue doesn’t need to know how to form liver tissue. So these epigenetic markers act as a highlighter, framing what important and whats not. These tags essentially turn on and off different portions of our DNA based on external factors.
The amazing thing about this is these tags change along with our environment. Loyal is looking to study what role epigentics plays in the aging of dogs and how we can slow that process. To learn more check out this guide on epigenetics.
The Products That Increase Your Dogs Healthy Lifespan
Loyal is currently in the testing phase for two drugs intended to increase your dogs health and life span. The two pills are similar but target a different goal depending on your dog.
LOY-001 (Intended for Large Dogs)
The first product is called LOY-001 and its main goal is to help large dogs live longer. There is a clear difference when looking at the lifespan of large dogs versus small and medium sized dogs. The image below comes from a study done in 2013 documenting the life expectancy of dogs based on weight. As you can see dogs on the small side of the scale can be expected to live almost twice as long as those on the larger side.
The research that Loyal has been doing into epigenetics has led them to create a drug they believe will target the differences causing large dogs to live shorter lives. This product has gone through initial pilot studies and is beginning companion pet studies this year. This would be administered by a vet every 3 to 6 months and is expected to launch fully in 2026.
LOY-002 (Intended to Increase Healthy Lifespan of Most Dogs)
The second drug that Loyal is working on is intended for older dogs to help keep them healthy for more of their natural lifespan. Aging in our dogs is inevitable, at least for now, and that often shows up as physical and mental decline.
There are a lot of things we can do as dog owners to help slow this process and keep our dogs happy and health as long as possible. This includes lots of exercise, a good diet, and lots of connection with their family. But Loyal is working on developing another product that can take our efforts one step further. LOY-002 is intended to increase our dogs metabolic fitness. By increasing their metabolic fitness loyal believes pets will live healthier for longer. This drug has also passed initial pilot tests and is being tested on companion pets this year. Once released the drug will be given as a daily pill at home and they are expecting to launch this product in 2024!
What Can You Do Now?
Can’t wait until these products are released? Us either!
Companion studies are planned for this year, so there is still time to be part of this groundbreaking research and help your dog at the same time.
Head over to their website and subscribe to their mailing list. You will be updated with new studies that you can participate in and be the first to know about new research/developments by the company.
