Is TIMP2 legal in the United Kingdom?

A protein enriched in human umbilical cord plasma that restored hippocampal plasticity and memory in aged mice. It is already measured in people, as an acute kidney injury biomarker, but has never been given to one.

TIMP2 is a naturally occurring inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases, present in everyone's blood. It became a longevity target through a 2017 Nature paper which asked whether human umbilical cord plasma, the earliest developmental stage of plasma available, contains plasticity-promoting factors.

Mechanism: In mice, systemically administered TIMP2 enters the brain and increases hippocampal synaptic plasticity and hippocampal-dependent cognition, and it is necessary for the cognitive benefit of human cord plasma. Blocking it with an antibody prevents long-term potentiation in brain slices, and neuronal TIMP2 regulates the complexity of the extracellular matrix around hippocampal neurons.

Regulatory history: Not approved as a therapy anywhere and never administered to a human. TIMP-2, in combination with IGFBP7, is used as a clinical laboratory biomarker for risk of acute kidney injury, which is a diagnostic use and not a treatment.

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 TIMP2 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.