Rapamycin Therapy Clinics
Rapamycin is a licensed transplant medicine used off-label for ageing. It extends lifespan in animals reliably, and no human trial has shown the same.
No clinic in this directory currently lists Rapamycin Therapy. The rest of this page - what it costs, who it suits, what to ask, and what the evidence shows - applies wherever you find it.
Rapamycin Therapy explained
Rapamycin, also called sirolimus, is a licensed prescription medicine used to prevent organ transplant rejection and to treat certain rare conditions. It has become one of the most discussed compounds in ageing research because it acts on mTOR, a cellular switch that senses nutrients and decides whether a cell grows or repairs itself - and because blocking that switch extends lifespan in laboratory animals more reliably than almost anything else tested.
What has not happened is a trial showing it extends healthy life in people. The animal data is strong and repeatable across species; the human data consists of small studies on immune function and biomarkers, plus trials in specific diseases. Off-label use for ageing runs ahead of the evidence, and the people prescribing it responsibly say so.
Dosing for ageing is not established. The transplant regimen is daily and immune-suppressing; the ageing hypothesis involves intermittent, much lower dosing intended to avoid that. Which schedule, at what dose, for whom, and with what long-term consequences are open questions rather than settled protocol.
This directory describes the service where clinics offer it. It does not suggest doses, schedules or whether anyone should take it - that is a prescription decision, made with a doctor who knows your history and can monitor you.
What it costs
The medicine itself is generic and inexpensive. The cost is the medical supervision: the initial assessment, the prescription, and the periodic blood work that has to continue for as long as it is taken.
Most clinics that offer it do so inside a membership or a monitored programme rather than as a one-off prescription, which is the appropriate way to handle an off-label medicine.
Insurance covers rapamycin for its approved indications. It does not cover off-label use for ageing.
Who it suits, and who it does not
People considering it are typically already deep into the longevity literature and want a prescriber who will monitor them properly rather than one who will simply write it.
It is not appropriate for anyone with an active infection, anyone about to have surgery or wound healing to do, or anyone who cannot commit to regular monitoring. It affects the immune system, and that is the point of it as a transplant medicine.
Anyone whose expectation is a proven anti-ageing effect should read what the human evidence actually consists of first. This is the service in the directory where the distance between the animal data and the human data is widest.
Questions to ask before you book
The answers separate clinics far more reliably than the service list on their website does.
- Are you prescribing off-label, and what do you tell patients about the evidence for that use
- What schedule and monitoring do you use, and what is that based on
- What blood tests do you repeat, and how often
- What are the effects on infection risk, wound healing and surgery
- What would make you stop the prescription
- What happens to my care if I move away or you stop offering this
What the evidence says
Our own reviews of the research behind this service, written from the published papers and linked to them. They run whether or not the verdict suits the directory.
Rapamycin Therapy: common questions
Is rapamycin approved for longevity?
No. It is approved to prevent transplant rejection and for certain rare conditions. Use for ageing is off-label, and no trial has shown that it extends healthy life in people.
What does rapamycin do?
It inhibits mTOR, a cellular switch that senses nutrients and shifts cells between growth and repair. Blocking it extends lifespan in laboratory animals across several species, which is why the ageing field is interested.
Can you get rapamycin for anti-ageing?
Some clinicians prescribe it off-label within a monitored programme. It is a prescription medicine everywhere, and buying it without a prescriber and monitoring means taking an immune-modifying drug with no oversight.
What are the side effects of rapamycin?
Mouth ulcers, raised blood lipids, impaired wound healing and increased infection risk are the ones reported most, and they are dose-dependent. The long-term effects of the low intermittent schedules discussed for ageing have not been studied.
Is rapamycin the same as metformin?
No. They are different medicines acting on different pathways. Both are discussed in ageing research, and neither is approved for it.