The Longevity Reality Radar
46 approaches, rated by evidence.

Anti-aging drugs in 2026: which have been tested in people

Rapamycin, acarbose, senolytics, rentosertib and reprogramming therapies, sorted by how far each has got in human testing and what the trials measured.

Published 14 September 2026. Built from the radar entries linked below; grades and verdicts update with them.

The short answer

No drug is approved to treat aging. Rapamycin and acarbose are approved for other conditions and extend lifespan in animals, but neither has shown a longevity benefit in people. Senolytics and partial epigenetic reprogramming are in early human trials. The most discussed recent result, rentosertib, comes from a lung-fibrosis trial, not a study of aging.

  • Rapamycin for longevityGrade C, strong animal data. Approved drug, off-label use.Extends lifespan across many animal species, but there is no human outcome data for longevity and side effects such as poor wound healing and infection are real.
  • Acarbose for longevityGrade C, strong animal data. Approved drug, off-label use.One of the most reproducible lifespan extenders in mice, mainly in males, but there is no human longevity trial.
  • RentosertibGrade C, post-hoc biomarker. Phase 3, for lung fibrosis.Six aging clocks moved in 42 lung-fibrosis patients over 12 weeks, a design that cannot separate slowed aging from a treated lung, and no healthy-volunteer or outcome data exist.
  • Senolytics (dasatinib, quercetin, fisetin)Grade C, small human studies. Phase 1/2.Small human studies show the drugs can be given, with off-target side effects, but no durable benefit in people has been shown.
  • Partial epigenetic reprogramming (ER-100)Grade D, animal data only. Phase 1, in the eye.A first-in-human safety trial in the eye has started, but every efficacy result so far comes from animals.
  • Trametinib plus rapamycinGrade D, single mouse study. Preclinical, mice.The combination extended mouse lifespan by about 27 to 29% in one study and has not been tested for aging in people.
  • Yamanaka factor reprogrammingGrade D, mouse studies. Preclinical.Mice show reversed aging markers, but the cancer risk is unsolved and no person has received it systemically.
  • Mitochondrial transplantationGrade D, mouse and lab. Preclinical.Mitochondrial DNA damage rising after 60 is documented, but correcting it has only been shown in mice and no human transplant data exist.
  • InflammagingGrade D, one mouse study. Preclinical.Boosting one anti-inflammatory protein made old mice stronger, while human approaches remain early with no outcome data.

Approved for something else is not approved for aging

Off-label use means a doctor prescribes a drug approved for a different condition. Rapamycin is an immunosuppressant, and taking it for longevity brings real side effects, including impaired wound healing and infection risk if it is misdosed. Its animal lifespan data are among the strongest of any drug. The human data on aging are missing.

Acarbose, a diabetes drug, extended median lifespan by about 20% in male mice and 4 to 5% in female mice in the NIH Interventions Testing Program. There is no human longevity trial.

Phase 3 for one disease is not Phase 3 for aging

Rentosertib is in Phase 3 for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Its aging signal comes from a post-hoc analysis of 42 patients over 12 weeks, in which six proteomic aging clocks pointed the same way. The radar places it on the ladder by its most advanced trial and grades the aging claim separately, as C. See what aging clocks can and cannot show.

Reprogramming: the biggest bet, the earliest data

Partial epigenetic reprogramming aims to make old cells behave younger without erasing what kind of cell they are. The first human study, ER-100, is a Phase 1 safety trial in the eye, and every efficacy result so far comes from animals. Whole-body reprogramming with Yamanaka factors has reversed aging markers in mice, but the risk of tumours is unsolved and no person has received it.

The drugs with outcome data are not sold as longevity drugs

Semaglutide and tirzepatide have large outcome trials showing fewer cardiovascular events and kidney protection, and are approved for obesity and diabetes. That is the strongest drug evidence on this radar that bears on healthy aging, and it comes from disease trials, not aging trials.

  • Semaglutide and tirzepatideGrade A, outcome RCTs. Approved.Large outcome trials show fewer cardiovascular events and kidney protection, with open questions on muscle loss and lifelong use.

What would change the picture

A randomised trial in healthy older people that measures disease, function or survival. For rentosertib, that would be a study in healthy volunteers, which has not been run. When a result like that appears, it goes into the change log with the paper behind it.

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Not medical advice. Discuss any change with a clinician who knows your history.