Treatments · 0 clinics in 0 countries · checked 21 Oct 2026
Rapamycin: evidence, regulation and where it is offered
Rapamycin (sirolimus) is a prescription medicine that weakens the immune system, used to help stop the body rejecting a kidney transplant. Our evidence label for it is Emerging. Early human evidence; benefits for healthy ageing not yet shown. None of the clinics we list offers it yet.
Some longevity clinics prescribe rapamycin for ageing. This is off-label: the medicine is licensed for other uses. In the US these are preventing kidney transplant rejection and treating a rare lung disease, lymphangioleiomyomatosis or LAM (MedlinePlus).
What the evidence says
Prescription status: a prescription-only treatment. We show no prices for it where the rules forbid advertising prescription medicines.
Evidence in people is early. A 2024 systematic review found 19 studies of rapamycin and related drugs in people, some healthy and some with ageing-related diseases. Some measures of the immune system, the heart and blood vessels, and the skin improved. No effects were found on hormone, muscle or nerve measures. The authors called for studies of long-term use.
In the PEARL trial, published in 2025, 114 adults aged 50 to 85 completed 48 weeks of a low weekly dose or a dummy pill. Its main measure, fat around the organs, did not change. Women on the higher dose gained some lean tissue and reported less pain, and side effects were similar in all groups. Most of its authors worked for, and owned shares in, the company that supported the trial.
Regulators and prescription status
Rapamycin is a prescription medicine. Its licensed uses in the US do not include ageing, so a doctor who prescribes it for ageing is using it off-label.
Emerging means: Early human evidence; benefits for healthy ageing not yet shown.
What regulators say
No regulator statement recorded yet.
Where it is offered
None of the clinics we list offers it yet.
Published prices
No price that may be shown is published by the clinics we list.
Safety and questions to ask
Sirolimus can make it harder to fight infections and may raise the risk of cancer, especially lymphoma. Listed side effects include mouth sores, swelling, and wounds that heal slowly (MedlinePlus). In the 2024 review, people with ageing-related diseases who took these drugs had higher cholesterol and blood fats, and more infections. No serious side effects linked to the drugs were reported in healthy people.
- Who prescribes it, and what checks come first?
- What dose and schedule are proposed, and why?
- What side effects should I watch for, and who do I call?
- How will my blood be checked while I take it?
- Does it interact with any medicines I take?