Is TIMP2 legal in the United States?

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.

Approves prescription drugs by indication and polices unapproved products, including peptides sold online. Compounding pharmacies may prepare some compounds under a prescription when the FDA places them on a permitted bulk-substances category.

The classification above is the The Longevity Archive reading of U.S. Food and Drug Administration 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.