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    Senolytics

    Also known as senolytic drugs, senotherapeutics

    Senolytics are drugs designed to selectively kill senescent cells, damaged cells that stop dividing and build up in tissues with age.[1][2] They delayed age-related problems in mice, but human randomized trials so far have missed primary endpoints or shown only non-significant trends.[3][4][5]

    Editor reviewedStrict sourcingUpdated Aging and longevity biologyLife sciencesHealth and medicine
    Key facts

    What senolytics are

    Cellular senescence is a state in which damaged cells stop dividing, a mechanism that helps restrain cancer.[6] Senescent cells accumulate in many tissues with age and were hypothesized to disrupt tissue function through the factors they secrete.[2] Cellular senescence is one of the twelve hallmarks of aging.[7]

    Senolytics are drugs designed to kill senescent cells selectively. The term was introduced in a 2015 paper that identified the drugs dasatinib and quercetin as candidates.[1]

    Evidence in animals

    The key proof of concept came in 2011. In prematurely aging mice, genetically removing cells that express the senescence marker p16Ink4a delayed age-related problems in fat, muscle and eye, and late-life clearance slowed problems already under way.[3] In 2015, a single dose of dasatinib plus quercetin improved heart function and blood vessel reactivity in old mice within five days.[8]

    A 2018 study tested the idea from both directions. Transplanting small numbers of senescent cells into young mice was enough to cause lasting physical dysfunction. In naturally aged mice, intermittent dasatinib plus quercetin eased physical dysfunction and increased survival after treatment began by 36%.[9]

    Human trials

    The first human study, published in 2019, was an open-label pilot in 14 people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Physical function measures improved, while lung function and a frailty index did not change.[10] It had no placebo group.[10] A second open-label pilot, in nine people with diabetic kidney disease, reported in 2019 that three days of the same drugs reduced the number of senescent cells in fat tissue within 11 days. The authors described it as the first peer-reviewed evidence that senolytics reduce senescent cells in humans.[11]

    Randomized trials have been less clear. In a 2024 phase 2 trial in 60 postmenopausal women, intermittent dasatinib plus quercetin did not change the primary bone-resorption marker. Exploratory analyses suggested women with a high senescent-cell burden might respond, a hypothesis the authors said needs testing.[4][12] UBX1325 (foselutoclax), a BCL-xL inhibitor injected into the eye, showed a non-significant 5.6-letter visual acuity advantage over sham at 48 weeks in 65 people with diabetic macular edema, and the authors called for larger trials.[13][5] Its developer, Unity Biotechnology, did not get that far. After 36-week data from a later study, ASPIRE, it cut all its staff in May 2025, and its stockholders approved liquidating and dissolving the company in September 2025.[14]

    Status as of October 2026

    The FDA does not recognize aging as a disease and no regulatory framework exists for approving aging-targeted therapies, so senolytic trials target specific conditions instead.[15] Inflammation-focused approaches are a related line of work: a 2024 mouse study found that blocking the inflammatory protein IL-11 extended median lifespan by about a quarter.[16] In June 2025 calico-life-sciences licensed IL-11-directed antibodies, including one in Phase 1.[17]

    The evidence so far follows a pattern: strong effects in mice, reduced senescent-cell markers in small human pilots, and no clear benefit yet in the randomized trials reported to date.[9][11][4][5] See also rapamycin-and-mtor and partial-reprogramming for the other main intervention classes.

    Questions readers ask

    What is a senescent cell?

    A damaged or dysfunctional cell that has stopped dividing. Senescence helps restrain tumours, but senescent cells accumulate with age and may disrupt tissues through what they secrete.[6][2]

    Do senolytics work in people?

    Not proven. A 60-person randomized trial of dasatinib plus quercetin missed its primary bone endpoint, and a 65-person eye trial of UBX1325 showed only a non-significant trend.[4][5]

    Which drugs are senolytics?

    The best-studied combination is dasatinib plus quercetin. UBX1325 (foselutoclax) is a BCL-xL inhibitor injected into the eye.[1][13]

    Sources

    Each numbered claim is a statement we checked against the sources listed with it. Status shows how well established it is.

    1. [1]

      Senolytics are a class of drugs designed to selectively kill senescent cells; the term was introduced in a 2015 paper that identified dasatinib and quercetin as candidates. confirmedas of 2015-04-22

    2. [2]

      Senescent cells accumulate in many tissues with age and were hypothesized to disrupt tissue function through the factors they secrete. confirmedas of 2011-11-02

    3. [3]

      In a 2011 study in progeroid (prematurely aging) mice, genetically removing p16Ink4a-positive senescent cells delayed age-related problems in fat, muscle and eye, and late-life clearance slowed disorders that had already set in. confirmedas of 2011-11-02

    4. [4]

      In a 2024 phase 2 randomized trial in 60 postmenopausal women, intermittent dasatinib plus quercetin did not change the primary bone-resorption marker at 20 weeks compared with control. confirmedas of 2024-07-02

    5. [5]

      In a 65-person sham-controlled trial in diabetic macular edema, UBX1325 showed a non-significant 5.6-letter visual acuity advantage at 48 weeks, and the authors called for larger trials. confirmedas of 2025-04-22

    6. [6]

      Cellular senescence is a state in which damaged or dysfunctional cells stop dividing, which helps restrain tumour development. confirmedas of 2011-11-02

    7. [7]

      A 2023 update in Cell expanded the list to twelve hallmarks of aging: genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, disabled macroautophagy, deregulated nutrient-sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, altered intercellular communication, chronic inflammation and dysbiosis. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    8. [8]

      In old mice, a single dose of dasatinib plus quercetin improved cardiac function and carotid vascular reactivity five days later. confirmedas of 2015-04-22

    9. [9]

      In a 2018 mouse study, transplanting small numbers of senescent cells caused lasting physical dysfunction, and intermittent dasatinib plus quercetin in naturally aged mice eased physical dysfunction and increased post-treatment survival by 36%. confirmedas of 2018-07-09

    10. [10]

      The first-in-human senolytic study, an open-label pilot of dasatinib plus quercetin in 14 people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, reported improved physical function but no change in lung function or frailty index. confirmedas of 2019-01-05

    11. [11]

      In a 2019 open-label pilot in nine people with diabetic kidney disease, three days of dasatinib plus quercetin reduced senescent-cell burden in fat tissue within 11 days, the first peer-reviewed evidence that senolytics reduce senescent cells in humans. confirmedas of 2019-09-18

    12. [12]

      Exploratory analyses of the 2024 bone trial suggested that women with a high senescent-cell burden responded to dasatinib plus quercetin, a hypothesis the authors said needs further testing. confirmedas of 2024-07-02

    13. [13]

      UBX1325 (foselutoclax) is a senolytic small molecule that inhibits the anti-apoptotic protein BCL-xL and is given as an injection into the eye. confirmedas of 2025-04-22

    14. [14]

      Unity Biotechnology, the developer of the senolytic UBX1325, cut all of its staff in May 2025 after 36-week data from its ASPIRE study, and its stockholders approved the company's liquidation and dissolution on 18 September 2025. confirmedas of 2025-09-19

    15. [15]

      Papers published in 2025 in peer-reviewed journals state that the FDA does not recognize aging as a disease and that no regulatory framework exists for developing or approving therapies that target aging, so such therapies are developed through disease-specific pipelines. confirmedas of 2025-08-04

    16. [16]

      In a 2024 Nature study, an anti-IL-11 antibody given to mice from 75 weeks of age until death extended median lifespan by 22.5% in males and 25% in females. confirmedas of 2024-07-17

    17. [17]

      In June 2025 Calico took an exclusive license from Mabwell to IL-11-directed therapeutics, including 9MW3811, a monoclonal antibody in Phase 1. confirmedas of 2025-06-26

    18. [18]

      The authors of the 2023 hallmarks review describe the twelve hallmarks as interconnected with one another. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    Revision history (2)
    1. Page created.
    2. Refresh: added the 2018 senescent-cell transplant and lifespan study, the 2019 human senescent-cell pilot, Unity Biotechnology's 2025 dissolution and Calico's IL-11 license.

    Created Oct 10, 2026. Last reviewed by an editor on Oct 10, 2026. Next scheduled review: Jan 10, 2027.

    Cite this page

    "Senolytics." ContentLora, updated Oct 10, 2026. https://contentlora.com/wiki/senolytics

    Spotted an error? Suggest a correction or emailcorrections@contentlora.com.

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