Biotech company Loyal has announced that it is “one step closer” to bringing a drug to market. In recent years, scientists have been using research to try to find suitable drugs that could prolong the life of dogs.
“The data provided by the company are sufficient to show that there is a reasonable expectation of effectiveness,” an FDA official said in a recent letter, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. This means that the drug, whose name Loyal is “keeping secret” to protect its proprietary and commercial rights, meets one of the conditions of “extended conditional approval.”
What is the expedited approval process for animal drugs? The drug is not yet available to pet owners because the FDA still needs to review safety data before moving forward with production. The conditional approval, which Loyal hopes to receive in 2026, will allow the company to begin marketing the drug to extend the life of dogs before extensive clinical trials are completed.
“We will aim to extend healthy life by at least one year,” said Celine Halioua, founder and CEO of Loyal. Whether the drug will deliver on this promise is unknown. Although a small study suggests that LOY-001 maymitigate metabolic changes associated with aging, Loyal has yet to be proven to extend the life of dogs.
Other similar studies are in development. A team of academic researchers is currently conducting clinical trials of rapamycin in dogs, which has been shown to prolong the life of laboratory mice. Loyal is also recruiting dogs for clinical trials of another drug candidate called LOY-002.
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