Loyal Raises $100M Series C, Led by age1, to Advance the First Canine Longevity Drug
- With participation from Baillie Gifford, Loyal’s latest funding builds on recent regulatory milestones and brings the company closer to market readiness
Loyal, a clinical-stage animal health company developing lifespan extension drugs for dogs, announced today that it has raised $100M in Series C funding. age1, the next generation of Laura Deming’s Longevity Fund, led the round. Baillie Gifford also participated alongside existing investors, bringing the total investment in Loyal to over $250M since its founding in late 2019.
Our driving purpose at Loyal is to help dogs live longer, healthier lives,” said Loyal Founder & CEO Celine Halioua. “We’re closer than ever to delivering a solution to the problem we set out to solve: an FDA-approved drug for canine lifespan extension. This capital will help our team see our lead program through the remaining FDA requirements and get to market.
LOY-002, a prescription daily pill, is Loyal’s lead program and aims to extend the healthy lifespan of senior dogs by proactively targeting the underlying metabolic drivers of aging. With the Reasonable Expectation of Effectiveness (RXE) and Target Animal Safety (TAS) sections complete, Loyal has satisfied two of the three major requirements for LOY-002’s application for Expanded Conditional Approval (XCA). If approved, LOY-002 stands to be the first FDA-approved drug for lifespan extension itself in any species.
“I’ve been incredibly lucky to know Celine since 2018 and to have witnessed and supported the team’s relentless execution as an investor,” said Alex Colville, Co-founder and General Partner of age1. “Loyal has created a scientific and cultural movement towards proactive therapeutics for aging. Very few realize the impact this has had to date and the impact it will have to come. The way we understand and approach aging will never be the same.”
As Loyal continues to advance its first drug and build its portfolio, the new capital will support the company’s efforts to scale its team, build distribution channels, and prepare for market launch of the first drug to extend canine lifespan. The final major requirement for FDA Expanded Conditional Approval (XCA) is in progress, and the company plans to submit it for review later this year.
Celine and the team are redefining how preventive care is approached in veterinary medicine,” said Tom Slater, partner at Baillie Gifford. “Helping dogs live longer, healthier lives matters to many families. By combining scientific rigour with a clear regulatory plan, Loyal has the foundations to build a substantial business in a large and expanding market.
The financing comes as Loyal has made significant progress in its pursuit of XCA for LOY-002. In the past year, Loyal has completed two of three major requirements needed for LOY-002’s XCA application and market launch and also completed enrollment in its pivotal trial, the STAY study, which is following 1,300 dogs across 70 veterinary clinics nationwide — the largest clinical trial in the history of veterinary medicine. Together, these achievements demonstrate the scientific and regulatory rigor of Loyal’s approach to longevity drug development and advance the company towards market readiness.
About Loyal
Loyal is an animal health company developing the first drugs intended to help dogs live longer, healthier lives. With over $250M raised to date, Loyal hopes to extend the lifespan of dogs and improve their quality of life by targeting the underlying mechanisms of aging. Loyal’s work builds on decades of research, and their team of experts in dog health and longevity is dedicated to furthering this research and developing better ways to quantify and improve the aging process in dogs. It currently has three drugs in development and is making progress toward approval from the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.
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