Pet owners who cannot face losing an animal now have a growing menu of biotech options. They range from longevity drugs to cloning and cryonics.
MIT Technology Review laid out the options this week, and questioned whether some of them are wise.
Pills for older dogs
US startup Loyal is developing three drugs aimed at helping dogs live longer. One, LOY-002, is a daily pill for senior dogs being tested in about 1,300 pet dogs across the US.
In January, US regulators accepted Loyal’s safety data for the drug. That is a step towards approval, not approval itself. Loyal expects to apply for conditional approval in 2027.
Other companies are testing dog drugs for age-related problems such as obesity and arthritis. One is working on longevity medicines for cats.
A $50,000 twin
Cloning takes a pet’s DNA and places it in an egg from another animal of the same species. The embryo is then carried by a surrogate.
Texas-based Viagen Pets charges $50,000 to clone a cat or dog, the magazine reported. The result is a genetic twin, not a copy with the same personality.
Lori Kogan, a Colorado State University professor who studies people’s bonds with animals, said owners often face grief that society does not recognise. If cloning brings them peace, she asked, “who are we to judge?”
Frozen for the future
A few companies freeze dead pets in the hope that future science can revive them. Alcor, in Arizona, stores hundreds of pets and people, and recently froze its first pet sugar glider.
Experts say revival is highly unlikely. The magazine’s Jessica Hamzelou said she worried both cloning and cryonics could teach children that death is not final.
Biotech’s push against ageing is not limited to pets. Startups such as HexemBio are raising money for rejuvenation therapies in humans.
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