Is Trametinib legal in the United Kingdom?

An approved melanoma drug that extended mouse lifespan, and did so additively with rapamycin, which suggests the two pathways are separate levers rather than the same one.

Most compounds that extend lifespan in mice are thought to work through nutrient sensing, which means adding them together should produce little more than either alone. Trametinib is interesting because it appears not to fit that pattern.

Mechanism: A selective allosteric inhibitor of MEK1 and MEK2, the kinases immediately downstream of RAF in the Ras, RAF, MEK, ERK cascade. That cascade transmits growth factor signals to the nucleus and drives proliferation, and it is constitutively active in cancers with BRAF mutations, which is the basis of the approval.

Regulatory history: FDA-approved as Mekinist for BRAF-mutant melanoma and other BRAF-mutant cancers, usually combined with dabrafenib. Not approved for 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 Trametinib 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.