Is Alpha-2-Macroglobulin legal in the United Kingdom?

A blood protein that blocks a wide range of enzymes, sold as a knee injection. The one proper trial in 75 people found it no better than platelet-rich plasma or a steroid shot, and the authors said the extra cost is not worth it.

The knee injection has actually been tested, which is unusual for anything sold this way. A trial at one hospital took 75 people with painful knee arthritis, at the middle grades of severity.

How it works: This part of the human biology is settled. A2M is a large blood protein built from four linked pieces.

Approval history: No alpha-2-macroglobulin product is FDA approved for any use. Shots offered by bone and joint doctors are made from the patient's own blood, on the spot. No approval exists for any ageing or longevity use.

Licenses medicines for sale in the UK. A compound without a licence to be sold (a marketing authorisation) is an unlicensed medicine. The law only lets it reach people through a prescriber, under the specials scheme (unlicensed medicines made for one patient's needs). It cannot be sold as a research product.

The legal category above is how The Longevity Archive reads Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency listings for Alpha-2-Macroglobulin on the reviewed date. It is not a legal opinion. Rules change. Bringing a compound into the country, prescribing it and owning it can each be treated differently. Check with the agency before you act on anything here.

Check MHRA directly

Whether Alpha-2-Macroglobulin is banned in sport is set by the World Anti-Doping Code and by military rules, not by its legal status in the United Kingdom. Before you compete or get tested, look up Alpha-2-Macroglobulin by name on the Prohibited List, or look up a named product in Global DRO. Under the World Anti-Doping Code, category S0 bans, at all times, any drug-like substance that meets two tests. No other section of the List covers it. And no government health regulator anywhere has a current approval for it as a treatment in people. Many substances that are approved somewhere are banned by name in another section. So approval does not mean a substance is allowed in sport.

• WADA Prohibited List
• Global DRO (check a named product)
• USADA (US athletes)
• Operation Supplement Safety (US service members)

The rules you compete or serve under decide this, not this page.