Chemical Reprogramming Cocktails vs OSK Partial Reprogramming
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
The short answer
Small molecules instead of gene therapy, aimed at the same reset of the cell's DNA markings. All of the chemical ageing work is cells in a dish, plus one lifespan result in a tiny worm. The gene therapy version has mouse data showing it works and one early trial recruiting 18 people, in one eye.
- Chemical Reprogramming Cocktails people
- 0
- Chemical Reprogramming Cocktails nulls
- 0
- OSK Partial Reprogramming people
- 0
- OSK Partial Reprogramming nulls
- 0
Dose
No human dose established
No published study on this page has given this compound to people and reported a result.
1 animal study, 3 lab studies, no human study
Dose
No human dose established
No published study on this page has given this compound to people and reported a result.
1 registered with no result
First-hand reports are counted on each profile and never added together. This page sets two published records side by side. It does not pick a winner.
Column A
Chemical Reprogramming CocktailsChemical reprogramming cocktails (small-molecule induced pluripotency and partial reprogramming)
Mixes of small molecules that do the job of the gene therapy in reprogramming. All the ageing work is in cells in a dish, plus one result in a worm that lived longer.
Column B
OSK Partial ReprogrammingOSK partial reprogramming (transient expression of Oct4, Sox2 and Klf4)
Three of the four Yamanaka genes, switched on briefly to reset the ageing marks on DNA without wiping out what kind of cell it is. One early safety trial in people is signing up 18 people, with a shot into one eye. Every result showing a benefit is in mice.
Side by side, on the facts we can check
| What we compare | Chemical Reprogramming Cocktails | OSK Partial Reprogramming |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Longevity | Longevity |
| FDA status | Not approved anywhere. No human study of a reprogramming drug mix is registered for any ageing use. These are lab chemicals. | Not approved in any country for any use. No reprogramming therapy has ever been approved. One investigational product, Life Biosciences ER-100, is in an early safety study that is signing up patients (NCT07290244). |
| Half-life | Not reported | Not reported |
| Molecular weight | Not reported | Not reported |
| How it works | In a dish, in human cells. Mixes of small molecules push cells into a flexible in-between state, so they can be reprogrammed without delivering genes. Blocking a signal route called JNK turned out to be needed to get there. It works by turning down inflammation signals. For the ageing use, what gets measured is gene-activity age, how well the cell keeps its nucleus and body separate, DNA damage, worn-out cell markers and oxidative stress. All of that is measured in human cells in a dish. Nothing has been shown in a living mammal, and nothing in a person. | This is shown in mice. Switching on OSK partly wipes and rewrites the chemical tags on a cell's DNA, called methylation. It shifts them toward a younger pattern, without pushing the cell all the way back to a stem cell. In the 2020 optic nerve work, the benefit needed TET1 and TET2, the enzymes that strip those tags off. That is direct evidence the effect runs through the DNA tags, not through some general gene effect. In human cells, the only work is in a dish. Skin cells given OSK showed tag markers of reversed age in the 2024 Cellular Reprogramming paper. Nothing about how it works has been shown in a living person. |
| Studies in people | 0 | 1 |
| Evidence | Animal or lab only: 1 animal study, 3 lab studies, no human study | Preliminary: 1 registered with no result |
| Legal status, US | Research use only; not approved | Investigational, not approved |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Chemical Reprogramming Cocktails and OSK Partial Reprogramming?
Chemical Reprogramming Cocktails: Mixes of small molecules that do the job of the gene therapy in reprogramming. All the ageing work is in cells in a dish, plus one result in a worm that lived longer. OSK Partial Reprogramming: Three of the four Yamanaka genes, switched on briefly to reset the ageing marks on DNA without wiping out what kind of cell it is. One early safety trial in people is signing up 18 people, with a shot into one eye. Every result showing a benefit is in mice.
Which has stronger research evidence, Chemical Reprogramming Cocktails or OSK Partial Reprogramming?
Each compound gets a band worked out from facts we counted, with the math shown. Chemical Reprogramming Cocktails is Animal or lab only (1 animal study, 3 lab studies, no human study). OSK Partial Reprogramming is Preliminary (1 registered with no result). That counts how much has been done in people. It does not rate whether either one works, and neither one is called the winner.
Are Chemical Reprogramming Cocktails and OSK Partial Reprogramming FDA-approved?
Chemical Reprogramming Cocktails: Not approved anywhere. No human study of a reprogramming drug mix is registered for any ageing use. These are lab chemicals.. OSK Partial Reprogramming: Not approved in any country for any use. No reprogramming therapy has ever been approved. One investigational product, Life Biosciences ER-100, is in an early safety study that is signing up patients (NCT07290244)..
Reviewed Sep 2026. This page puts two published records side by side. It is for learning, and it is not medical advice. When this site shows a dose, it is the dose a trial or a clinic actually used, or what people say they did, with the source attached. None of it tells you what to take.