Rapamycin for dogs
A transplant drug that lengthens life in mice, now in a 580-dog trial. No study has yet shown it does the same for dogs.
The TRIAD trial
The Dog Aging Project's Test of Rapamycin In Aging Dogs is the first trial built to find out whether rapamycin makes pet dogs live longer. It plans 580 dogs aged 7 and over weighing 20 to 55 kg, about 44 to 121 lb. Rapamycin or a placebo once a week by mouth for a year, then two years of follow-up, with lifespan as the main measure and heart, movement and thinking as the others (GeroScience).
It nearly stopped for lack of money until a $7M NIH grant in December 2024, when it had 170 dogs at 20 sites (Texas A&M). It is still recruiting and aims to finish enrolling by the end of 2026, so results are expected around 2029.
What the earlier dog studies found
In a 10-week trial in 24 middle-aged pet dogs, the hearts of the dogs on rapamycin pumped better than those on a placebo, with no more side effects (GeroScience, 2017). A six-month trial of a lower dose in 17 healthy dogs found no difference in heart function and no serious side effects; owners of the treated dogs reported good changes more often (Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2023). Neither was large or long enough to say anything about lifespan.
Vets offering it now
A few US vets and telehealth services prescribe rapamycin to dogs for aging, off-label, with blood tests before and during. Critics, among them the vet who writes as the SkeptVet, argue that this is ahead of the evidence (The SkeptVet). The TRIAD results are what would settle it.
How it differs from Loyal's drugs
Rapamycin is an old human drug, and TRIAD is an academic trial run by the Dog Aging Project, not a company seeking approval. Loyal's drugs are new, made for dogs, and going through the FDA. LOY-002 is the closest to approval.
Whether your dog should take any of these is a question for your vet, who knows its health.
Questions people ask
Is rapamycin approved for dogs?
No. Rapamycin (sirolimus) is a human medicine. Any use in dogs is off-label, and no study has yet shown it lengthens a dog's life.
When will the TRIAD results be out?
The trial aims to finish enrolling by the end of 2026 and follows each dog for three years, so results are expected around 2029.
Can my dog join the rapamycin trial?
TRIAD takes spayed or neutered dogs aged 7 and over weighing 20 to 55 kg (about 44 to 121 lb) through the Dog Aging Project. Whether a dog is accepted is up to the study team.
Sources
- Test of Rapamycin In Aging Dogs (TRIAD), study design, GeroScience (Coleman, Creevy and others), February 14, 2025.
- NIH grant keeps the Dog Aging Project rapamycin trial going, Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine, December 9, 2024.
- A randomized controlled trial of short-term rapamycin in 24 middle-aged companion dogs, GeroScience (Urfer, Kaeberlein, Promislow and others), 2017.
- Low-dose rapamycin's safety and effect on cardiac function in 17 healthy client-owned dogs, Frontiers in Veterinary Science (Barnett and others), May 18, 2023.
- Should you give your dog rapamycin?, The SkeptVet, November 1, 2024.