Is Sodium phenylbutyrate legal in Australia?

A chemical chaperone that relieves endoplasmic reticulum stress, and a weak HDAC inhibitor, so it targeted two ageing mechanisms at once. It did not extend mouse lifespan in either sex.

This compound was an attractive candidate because it hits two things on the standard list of ageing hallmarks. Loss of proteostasis is one, and 4-phenylbutyrate is a chemical chaperone that helps misfolded proteins fold and relieves endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Mechanism: Two established activities. As a chemical chaperone it stabilises protein folding intermediates non-specifically and reduces the unfolded protein response, which is the basis of its use in conditions of protein misfolding.

Regulatory history: FDA-approved for urea cycle disorders. Also formed part of a combination product approved for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis that was subsequently withdrawn after its confirmatory trial failed. No ageing indication.

Registers or lists therapeutic goods on the ARTG and schedules substances in the Poisons Standard. Many peptides are Schedule 4 (prescription only), so possession without a prescription and personal importation are restricted even when no product is registered.

The classification above is the The Longevity Archive reading of Therapeutic Goods Administration listings for Sodium phenylbutyrate 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.