Could a Daily Pill Help Your Dog Live Longer? The FDA Is Reviewing One Right Now

Any devoted dog owner knows the quiet grief of watching a beloved pet slow down. Dogs live roughly 10 to 13 years, according to PetMD, and much of that final stretch often brings chronic illness, lost mobility and painful goodbyes. A biotech company called Loyal is trying to rewrite that equation with a beef-flavored daily pill, and the FDA is now reviewing it.

The drug, known as LOY-002, cleared a major regulatory hurdle in February 2025 when federal regulators deemed it likely to be effective. If the final steps go smoothly, it could reach veterinarians as soon as next year at around $100 a month.

How the daily pill works

Rather than treating a specific condition like arthritis or cancer, LOY-002 targets aging itself. The prescription pill is designed for dogs aged 10 and older that weigh more than 14 pounds, according to Good.is, and it works by reducing the effects of a hormone called IGF-1, or insulin-like growth factor 1.

IGF-1 helps puppies grow, but elevated levels later in life are associated with faster cellular aging, especially in larger breeds. By dialing down that signal, Loyal says the drug could slow a dog’s biological clock, lower the risk of age-related disease and preserve quality of life in a dog’s final years.

“Anyone who has cared for a dog knows the pain of watching them grow older, slower, and less active as they age,” Brennen McKenzie, Loyal’s director of veterinary medicine, told Newsweek.

McKenzie added that veterinarians already have ways to manage specific problems tied to aging. “But we also need preventive tools to slow down the decline caused by aging and delay the onset of those problems. That’s where therapies like the ones Loyal is developing come in,” he said.

Why larger dogs could benefit most

A longstanding rule of canine biology holds that bigger dogs live shorter lives. Great Danes and other giant breeds typically die far earlier than small breeds, and they are more prone to age-related disease along the way.

LOY-002 could be especially meaningful for medium and large breeds because their faster biological aging is tied to the exact hormonal pathway the drug targets. For the owner of an aging Lab, shepherd or mastiff, that connection is the whole point.

What the FDA has already approved

For owners counting the months, two regulatory milestones already matter. Loyal was founded in 2019 by Celine Halioua, now 31, and has raised more than $150 million. Its ongoing STAY study is a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial enrolling 1,300 dogs across 70 clinics, which the company calls the largest clinical trial in veterinary medicine history. Half the dogs receive the daily pill. Half receive a placebo. Neither the owners nor the vets know which is which.

The FDA has accepted the Target Animal Safety portion of Loyal’s application, with data from more than 400 dogs confirming the drug is safe for its intended use. Combined with the February finding that LOY-002 is likely to be effective, that puts the company two-thirds of the way to conditional approval. The remaining manufacturing submission is expected in 2027, meaning the earliest a prescription could land in your vet’s office is next year.

“Their goal is to prevent the harm of ageing before it happens,” Halioua told NDTV. “This brings us one step closer to the first-ever FDA-approved drug for lifespan extension.”

What it could mean for humans

Dogs are often described as the closest biological mirror humans have. They share our homes, breathe the same air and develop many of the same age-related conditions, from cognitive decline to cancer. Because dogs age roughly seven times faster than people, scientists can study longevity treatments in years rather than decades.

If LOY-002 works in dogs, it could open the door to similar therapies in humans. For now, though, the most immediate beneficiary of this research may be the graying companion curled up near your chair.