Is Senolytic CAR T cells legal in the United Kingdom?

Living T cells engineered to recognise and kill senescent cells by a surface marker, uPAR. Every result is in mice, and no human trial of senolytic CAR T for ageing or senescence is registered anywhere.

This is the most mechanically interesting senolytic approach in existence and it has never been given to a person for this purpose. Small-molecule senolytics work by tipping already-stressed senescent cells over the edge into apoptosis, which means they are only as selective as the survival pathway they block.

Mechanism: uPAR, the product of the PLAUR gene, is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored cell-surface receptor that is broadly upregulated during senescence, which makes it usable as a seno-antigen. A chimeric antigen receptor is a synthetic protein spliced into a T cell so the T cell recognises that surface antigen directly, without needing normal antigen presentation, and kills what carries it.

Regulatory history: No senolytic CAR T product is approved, and none is in a registered human trial for ageing or senescence. CAR T therapy as a class is approved in the United States for certain blood cancers, which is a different target, a different patient and a different risk calculation.

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 Senolytic CAR T cells 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.