The ITP has tested dozens of interventions for lifespan extension in mice at three independent sites simultaneously. Here is what it found — and what the results mean for human translation.
The NIA Interventions Testing Program is the most methodologically rigorous longevity pharmacology testing program in existence. It is the closest thing to a ground truth for preclinical longevity pharmacology — and its results are more sobering than the supplement industry would suggest.
The ITP tests interventions simultaneously at three independent sites — the University of Michigan, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and the Jackson Laboratory — using genetically diverse UM-HET3 mice on standardized diets. Positive results must be reproducible at all three sites. This replication requirement eliminates laboratory-specific artifacts that have plagued earlier longevity pharmacology literature.
Confirmed lifespan extenders in the ITP (as of mid-2026): rapamycin (9–14% median lifespan extension, replicated multiple times), acarbose (males: 22%, females: 5%), 17-alpha-estradiol (males only: ~19%), aspirin (males only: modest), nordihydroguaiaretic acid (males only), glycine (modest, both sexes). Notable failures: resveratrol (no effect in normal-weight mice), metformin (marginal trend, not significant), fish oil (no effect), green tea extract (no effect), simvastatin (no effect). The pattern that emerges: many widely discussed longevity interventions fail to extend lifespan in the ITP's controlled conditions.
ITP results in mice are not directly predictive of human outcomes — the program itself acknowledges this. Mice live two years and are housed in controlled conditions; humans have vastly different genetics, diets, and environments. A compound that fails in mice might still benefit humans through mechanisms not relevant to mouse aging. More importantly, a compound that succeeds in mice has repeatedly failed to translate — the longevity pharmacology graveyard is full of interventions that extended mouse lifespan but produced no benefit or harm in humans. ITP results should be used as evidence that a compound has a measurable lifespan-extending effect in at least one mammalian system — necessary but not sufficient evidence for human translation.
The ITP has found that most longevity interventions that look promising in simpler organisms or early mouse studies fail to replicate under rigorous controlled testing. Rapamycin is the single most validated intervention in the program. Acarbose is an underappreciated positive. Most widely discussed longevity supplements have either not been tested or have shown no effect. The ITP results should be a calibration tool for longevity medicine practitioners — not a definitive guide to human clinical decisions, but a useful filter for assessing preclinical credibility.
This information is provided for educational reference only and does not constitute medical advice or a treatment recommendation.