Is Methotrexate legal in the United Kingdom?

The best available test of whether suppressing chronic inflammation extends life. In a large human cardiovascular trial it did not reduce events, and in mouse lifespan testing it did not extend lifespan.

Inflammaging, the idea that low-grade chronic inflammation drives age-related disease, is one of the most widely accepted frameworks in geroscience. Methotrexate is the most-used disease-modifying anti-inflammatory drug in medicine, so it is the natural way to test whether turning inflammation down extends healthy life.

Mechanism: At high oncology doses it inhibits dihydrofolate reductase, starving cells of reduced folate needed for DNA synthesis, which is a cytotoxic effect. At the low weekly doses used in rheumatoid arthritis the mechanism is different and centres on inhibition of aminoimidazole carboxamide ribonucleotide transformylase, causing adenosine accumulation, which is anti-inflammatory.

Regulatory history: FDA-approved for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and several cancers. Not approved for cardiovascular prevention or any ageing indication.

Licenses medicines for the UK market. A compound without a marketing authorisation is an unlicensed medicine, which can only lawfully be supplied for human use through a prescriber under the specials scheme, not sold as a research product.

The classification above is the The Longevity Archive reading of Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency listings for Methotrexate 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.