The drug that just beat rapamycin

Senolytics: Liver Macrophages and Spinal Discs Emerge as Targets

• UCLA researchers identified a p21+TREM2 macrophage subtype that accumulates to 60–80% of liver macrophages in aging mice, driving fatty liver inflammation and metabolic disease; clearing these cells reversed disease without dietary changes, with LDL cholesterol implicated as the accumulation trigger.
• Dasatinib + quercetin delayed spinal disc degeneration in mice via the JUN pathway, with results validated in human intervertebral disc tissue, per a new Nature study. Navitoclax, also tested, failed — a selectivity finding relevant to future human trial design.

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FDA Schedules July Peptide Advisory Panel; Compounding Access May Ease First

• FDA plans a July advisory panel on 14 peptides — BPC-157, TB-500, GHK-Cu, Epitalon, and 10 others — and will ease compounding restrictions pre-emptively before the panel convenes, the biggest access shift for the category since the 2023 Category 2 crackdown.
• The RFK administration is considering compounding access for all 14 peptides, with Epitalon and GHK-Cu now explicitly in scope for the first time; physicians cited both therapeutic rationale and the absence of long-term human safety data for most compounds.
• The US direction diverges sharply from the UK's (previously reported: MHRA launched an investigation into unauthorized peptide clinic claims) — the two major English-language markets are now moving in opposite directions on peptide access policy.

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New Drug Data and the Academic Longevity Trial Build-Out

• Seragon's SRN-901 extended median remaining lifespan by 33% in aged Western-diet mice — outperforming rapamycin (+21%), NMN, and NR in the same cohorts, per company-published multi-omics data in a peer-reviewed journal. Note: source is a company press release; independent replication is pending.
• UT San Antonio, Cedars-Sinai, Northwestern, and Albert Einstein are each building longevity trial infrastructure for healthy aging adults, according to an AAMC feature on academic longevity trials, with rapamycin, semaglutide, SGLT2 inhibitors, and senolytics among the targeted protocols in non-diseased populations.
• A $33.5M ARPA-H program at CU Boulder demonstrated OA reversal in animal models via an injectable biomaterial scaffold; Phase 2 safety trials are underway, with human efficacy trials targeted for 2028. (Previously reported: Stanford identified a separate cartilage regeneration approach — the CU program uses a scaffold biomaterial rather than cellular reprogramming.)

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Reprogramming Pipeline: Safety Architecture and Who's Still Preclinical

• Scientific American's survey of the reprogramming field places Altos Labs, Retro Biosciences, and NewLimit in preclinical stages while Life Biosciences holds the field's only human trial (previously reported: ER-100 IND cleared January 2026). Life Biosciences uses an antibiotic-inducible on/off switch for OSK activation — halting reprogramming if cells show identity loss — a safety design not previously disclosed in trial coverage.