RTR242 dosage and evidence
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
The short answer
RTR242 is the first drug in people from Retro Biosciences, the longevity company backed by Sam Altman. It is a pill meant to restore cell clean-up in the brain, for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. An early study began in December 2025.
Evidence grade for RTR242: Limited. The rule: people have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. The sum on this page: 1 completed trial, none stating how many people. A grade counts how much has been done to people, not whether it works.
- People given it
- 0
- Human studies
- 1
- Found nothing
- 0
Dose
No human dose established
Amounts that were given in studies sit in Human evidence on this page. None of them is a personal dose.
1 completed trial, 0 people given it
1 effects reported, 1 unwanted, by people using it, not a trial
In plain English
In plain English, from Aaron
This is how I would explain it to a friend. The evidence, with the numbers, is further down the page.
RTR242 is a pill from Retro Biosciences, the longevity company backed by Sam Altman. It is meant to help brain cells clear out waste. The target is Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. It is in its first study in people.
What people take it for
- Slowing Alzheimer's or Parkinson's.
- Boosting cell clean-up to slow ageing.
What studies in people showed
There are no results of any kind. Dosing began in Australia in December 2025. It is an early study that raises the dose step by step to look for harm.
What people report
Reports, not study results
The good
- We have not collected user reports on this one yet.
The bad
- No results or side effect data have been published yet.
Where these come from: Everything here is from the company pages on this page. There are no user reports.
My bottom line
Famous backers are not evidence. Anything sold under this name is not the drug.
An opinion, not a finding. I am a coach, not a doctor.
What it has been measured to do
Nothing indexed yet
The 2 citations on this page do not report a result for any of the 36 goals indexed here. Most of what sits here is something else: a listing of a planned study, a study of how the body handles the drug, a safety report or a government record. None of those tests whether it works.
Show full evidence
What is RTR242?
RTR242 is the first drug in people from Retro Biosciences, the longevity company backed by Sam Altman. It is a pill meant to restore cell clean-up in the brain, for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. An early study began in December 2025.
RTR242 aims to fix lysosomes, the parts of a cell that break down waste, so cells can clear the protein clumps linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Retro gave the first doses in an early study in Australia in December 2025. The dose goes up step by step through 2026, with results expected before a mid-stage Alzheimer's study. There are no results on whether it works. The interest comes from the company's profile and the idea behind it. It has nothing to do with FLGR-242, a grey market follistatin product with a similar name.
How does RTR242 work?
It boosts autophagy and lysosome clean-up, to cut the build-up of misfolded proteins in nerve cells.
The evidence, in charts
Fig. 1a · how many people
1study in people cited, but none says how many people took part
number of people not stated
We do not draw a total, because none of the studies in people on this page gives one. Read the sources below for what each study measured.
We read the number of people from the source lines on this page. Where a line gives no number, we count nothing for it. We do not guess.
Fig. 1b · evidence mix
1 of 2 sources here is a study in people. The rest is not.
- Study in people · done in people150%
- Review of studies · sums up other studies150%
Counted from the list of sources on this page. It counts only what we cite, so there may be more studies out there. A review counts once, however many studies it sums up.
Fig. 2 · evidence over time
Sources here come from just two years, 2025 and 2026.
Too few different years on this page to draw a timeline.
Fig. 3 · legal status at a glance
US
Not approved
UK
Not approved
AU
Not approved
CA
Not approved
Not approved in any of the four countries shown. This is what the law says, not a verdict on the science. See Legal status below for the full text and any notes.
Fig. 4 · how much does what
Nobody has tested different amounts in people
This chart would show how the effect changes as the amount goes up. For this compound, nobody has measured that in people. So we leave it empty. We will not borrow an animal chart and pretend it works the same in people.
Fig. 5 · what the molecule is
- Kind of compound
- Small molecule
- Molecule weight
- Not disclosed
- Half-life
- Stated in words, not a numbersee the exact wording below
- Chain length
- None on file
No amino acid sequence is on file for RTR242, which is expected: a small molecule is not built from amino acids.
The studies we cite
- Study in people2025Retro Bio commences first-in-human trial
Dosing has started and nothing has been reported. Retro Biosciences began giving RTR242 to people in Australia in December 2025, in an early study that raises the dose step by step to look for harm. There are no results of any kind on whether it helps. The attention this drug gets comes from who funds the company and from the idea behind it.
Phase 1 dosing began December 2025.
- Review of studies2026Retro Biosciences pipeline: RTR242
This is the company's own pipeline page, not a study. It lists RTR242 as a pill that boosts cell clean-up, now in its first study in people.
Oral autophagy enhancer in first-in-human study.
Common questions
Has RTR242 been tested in people?
Yes. 0 people given it across 1 completed trial cited here, 0 of which found nothing. RTR242 is the first drug in people from Retro Biosciences, the longevity company backed by Sam Altman. It is a pill meant to restore cell clean-up in the brain, for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. An early study began in December 2025.
What is the RTR242 dosage?
No human dose established. Amounts that were given in studies sit in Human evidence on this page. None of them is a personal dose. 1 completed trial, 0 people given it
Is RTR242 FDA-approved?
Investigational; in early safety studies (Australia)
Can I buy RTR242?
No. It exists only inside an early study. Anything sold under that name is not the drug.
What is autophagy?
It is how cells break down and recycle damaged parts. It slows with age, and boosting it is a big theme in longevity research.
Latest reading on RTR242
Blog posts about RTR242, newest first.