A US company will launch a drug to prolong canine longevity on the market next year
Who wouldn’t like to extend the life of their pet? Dogs, for example, are the faithful companions of millions of people in Spain, but their life expectancy is short. Now, An American company whose objective is to prolong the life (and in good health conditions) of dogs is about to launch a pill to increase the longevity of these pets. At the moment, it is carrying out the corresponding tests of two versions of the same product.
The San Francisco-based company Loyal has completed exhaustive studies on how aging affects different breeds and older dogs. Over the past few years, its specialists have evaluated 500 animals of different breeds, sizes and ages from all over the United States.
There are two products in the trial phase. On the one hand, LOY-001 will be a drug that will be administered every three to six months to larger dogs, which normally only live half as long as smaller ones. On the other hand, LOY-002 will try to manage healthy aging in dogs already of a certain age, of almost all sizes and breeds. The company ensures that the product “it improves metabolic fitness, which will extend the number of healthy years your dog lives& rdquor ;.
This same 2023 the product LOY-001 will begin to be tested on dogs and it is estimated that its launch will take place in 2026. LOY-002, on the other hand, will be released earlier: in 2024since in 2023 the decisive tests will already be carried out to verify the results.
The influence of epigenetics on dogs
Ongoing research is also focusing on the influence of epigenetics on aging in dogs.. Epigenetics is the study of how behavior and the environment can affect the way genes work. Unlike traditional genetics, which focuses on the sequence of letters that make up DNA, Epigenetics is a newer field dedicated to understanding the processes that turn certain genes on and off. “If you think of the DNA sequence as an instruction manual for the body, then epigenetics is like handwritten notes that indicate which parts to read carefully and which to ignore & rdquor ;, says Loyal on his website.
“Our study examines this data on thousands of dogs, and we will use the results to develop health metrics and medications aimed at helping dogs live longer, healthier lives,” he adds.
“DNA methylation is one of many types of epigenetic modifications added to DNA that control which parts of the DNA are active in a cell,” writes Zane Koch for Loyal.
“Recently, researchers have discovered that as time passes, DNA methylation patterns in cells throughout the body of an organism change. […] These changes in DNA methylation are closely related to aging. So much so that computational models, called ‘epigenetic clocks’, can accurately predict an organism’s age based on its DNA methylation alone,” he adds.
“At Loyal, we are creating advanced tools that leverage our unique epigenetic data sets on dogs to predict health, longevity and improve drug development”Koch continued. “Soon, you and your dog can benefit from this knowledge, either directly through a test that informs health and lifestyle, or indirectly through faster therapeutic treatment.”
If Loyal is successful with his anti-aging pills for dogs, it is possible that they could also be useful for humans one daysince the knowledge that explains how and why we age is translated into treatments to slow down these processes and medicines that can help us with the same purpose.
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