Francesca Capozzi San Francisco startup LOYAL develops drugs to extend dog lifespans, targeting senior and large-breed dogs with treatments awaiting FDA approval by 2026-2027
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They steal our hearts with cuddles and smiles, comfort us on our darkest days, love us unconditionally without ever judging us—even when our world feels like it’s falling apart. But it’s when they die that everything truly crumbles.
Dogs are treasures that life gifts us for far too brief a time. We wish they could accompany us through every stage of our future, that they could be eternal, but their existence is merely a fragment of ours. The average dog lives just 10 to 15 years—a heartbreakingly short span compared to human lifetimes.
Accepting what amounts to genuine grief is extraordinarily difficult, challenging even after decades of tears and countless unanswered questions. We can’t fathom how unfair it is that such special beings spend “only” a decade or so by our side. It’s a cruel mathematics of love that every dog owner eventually confronts.
When science meets our deepest wish
What if dogs could live longer, and we could consequently spend more time with them? This is the ambitious goal driving several startups working to create treatments that could extend our four-legged friends’ life expectancy. The results are promising, though they’ve sparked both hope and criticism in equal measure.
Among the companies pursuing this mission is LOYAL, a San Francisco-based firm developing drugs awaiting approval in the United States. Their medications aim to extend dogs’ lifespans while delaying the aging process in our canine companions.
The company is working on LOY-002 and two other medications, LOY‑001 and LOY‑003, designed respectively to “correct metabolic dysfunction” and “correct the overexpression of IGF-1 and growth hormone (GH) in large dogs after maturity,” according to Loyal’s website.
The first treatment targets senior dogs aged 10 years or older weighing at least 13 pounds (6 kg), while the latter two are intended for large-breed dogs aged 7 or older weighing more than 40 pounds (18 kg). The hope is that someday big dogs might live exactly as long as their smaller, naturally longer-lived companions—a fascinating reversal of the size-longevity paradox we see across species.
LOY-002 has already cleared preclinical studies and is currently undergoing a large-scale trial involving more than 1,000 companion dogs across 70 clinics throughout the United States. The company hopes to receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2026, with LOY‑001 and LOY‑003 potentially following in 2027.
The science of skepticism
Research continues, but not without doubts. Some place their hopes in this project, while others view the formulation of a “fountain of youth for dogs” with considerable skepticism. But why this divide?
On one hand, we all wish we never had to say goodbye to our most faithful four-legged friend. On the other, we understand that, like everything in this world, their earthly experience is destined to end. We don’t always comprehend the reasons, especially when the end comes unexpectedly like lightning from a clear sky.
Yet there’s a natural cycle with a beginning and an end, unfolding at its own measured pace. Is it right to tamper with this cycle? It’s a question we should all ask ourselves, weighing the issue within a broader discussion and reaching our own personal conclusions.
We’ve already intervened by dramatically altering the genetics of certain animals, like broiler chickens in intensive farming operations. We’ve selectively bred them to grow at unnatural speeds to produce more meat and halve production times. Yet now we’re investing money and effort to extend the lives of other animals, keeping them by our sides as long as possible so that we, too, can feel better.
Love, loss, and moral complexity
However well-intentioned and heartfelt our motivations might be, the question bears repeating: Is all this permissible? And how should we interpret it within a discourse that transcends nature itself? Is it a form of selfishness, or simply love—an attempt to save a life dear to us, one that holds immeasurable value in our hearts?
We certainly don’t need scientific proof to recognize how much animals—all animals—can teach us about behavior, empathy, and society. A lifetime wouldn’t be enough to learn everything they offer, even with longevity pills already on the market. There’s undoubtedly much to reflect upon as we stand at this crossroads between science and sentiment, between extending life and accepting its natural rhythms.
The conversation about canine longevity touches something deeper than veterinary medicine—it reaches into our understanding of what it means to love something whose time with us is inevitably limited. Perhaps that’s the most human question of all.
Source: Loyal
