Is 17-DMAG legal in Canada?

An HSP90 inhibitor that failed to extend mouse lifespan by the Interventions Testing Program's protocol test and showed a 7 to 9 percent male median gain by the Gehan test, and that extended healthspan in a progeroid mouse as one of the first senolytics identified. In people it went through oncology phase 1 trials with cardiac, ocular and one treatment-related death as dose-limiting events, and development stopped around 2010.

17-DMAG (alvespimycin) is a water-soluble derivative of geldanamycin that inhibits heat shock protein 90, the chaperone that stabilises many oncogenic signalling proteins. It was developed as a cancer drug by Kosan Biosciences and then Bristol-Myers Squibb, reached phase 1 in solid tumours, acute myeloid leukaemia and HER2-positive breast cancer, and was not taken further.

Mechanism: 17-DMAG binds the ATP pocket of HSP90 and blocks its chaperone cycle, sending client proteins such as CDK4, HER2, AKT and mutant kinases to proteasomal degradation and inducing HSP70 as a compensatory response. In the human phase 1 trials, HSP72 induction in blood cells was detectable from 20 mg/m2 and client protein depletion at 80 mg/m2, so the target was engaged at tolerated doses.

Regulatory history: Investigational, never approved. Oncology phase 1 trials completed 2004 to 2012; a phase 2 in HER2-positive breast cancer was terminated after 4 patients; no trial registered since 2010. The lifespan signal is a Gehan-only reanalysis result in male mice; the healthspan result is in a progeroid mouse model.

Authorises drugs for sale through a Notice of Compliance and Drug Identification Number. A compound that is not authorised for sale cannot lawfully be sold for human use, and personal importation of prescription drugs is limited.

The classification above is the The Longevity Archive reading of Health Canada, Health Products and Food Branch listings for 17-DMAG at the reviewed date, not a legal opinion. Rules change, and importing, prescribing and possessing a compound can each be treated differently. Check the regulator directly before acting on anything here.