Canine Longevity Firm Loyal Raises $100M Series C
Loyal, a biotech company developing longevity drugs for dogs, has raised $100 million in a Series C funding round. The investment reflects how human longevity research and capital are spilling over into adjacent markets like veterinary medicine.
- This Series C round brings Loyal's total funding to over $250 million since its founding in late 2019. The round was led by age1, the new fund from Laura Deming's Longevity Fund, with participation from Baillie Gifford. - Founder and CEO Celine Halioua started Loyal at age 25 after leaving a D.Phil. program at Oxford and working at The Longevity Fund, an early investor in her company. - The company is developing three longevity drugs: LOY-001 and LOY-003 for large breeds, which target the growth hormone IGF-1 to address their shorter lifespans, and LOY-002 for senior dogs of most sizes. - LOY-002, a daily pill to improve metabolic health in senior dogs, is the closest to market. Loyal has completed two of three major requirements for the FDA's Expanded Conditional Approval and expects the drug to be available for prescription in early 2025. - To support its FDA application, Loyal is conducting the STAY study, the largest clinical trial in veterinary medicine history, following 1,300 dogs across 70 clinics. - The global pet market is projected to grow from $320 billion to almost $500 billion by 2030, with the pet anti-aging market alone expected to reach over $1.2 billion by 2035.
