The largest ever clinical trial for extending the lifespan of animals has officially begun. And it might have important implications for better understanding the longevity of human beings, too.

‍What’s happening:‍

• Biotechnology company Loyal has announced they have dosed their first ever dog in their clinical trial
  
• The clinical trial is focused on Loyal's novel therapeutic, known as LOY-002, which aims to increase significantly the lifespan of older animals
  

Why it matters:‍

• Aside from the positive implications of extending the lifespan of animals, Loyal believes the data from their clinical trial will be able to offer meaningful insights into how the same therapeutics could be applied to human beings
  

How it works:‍

• The therapeutic designed by Loyal is a small, beef flavoured pill that targets metabolic health to attempt to fight off diseases commonly associated with ageing dogs
  
• Loyal is developing a biobank with both blood and saliva samples from all dogs that participate in the clinical trial to build a data model that they hope will give new insights into both animal and human longevity
  

By the numbers:‍

• This is the largest clinical trial ever focused on longevity in animals, which is being conducted across more than 50 different locations with more than 1,000 individual dogs
  
• All dogs participating in the clinical trial are at least 10 years old
  
• The study is anticipated to take 4 years to fully complete
  

Going deeper:‍

• Loyal has a number of notable investors, including Khosla Ventures, First Round Capital, The Longevity Fund and others

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