A trial designed to answer one of the most-asked questions in longevity research still has not started. TAME, short for Targeting Aging with Metformin, is meant to test whether a decades-old diabetes drug can delay the diseases of aging.
What the trial would do
The American Federation for Aging Research describes TAME as a planned randomized study of about 3,000 adults aged 65 to 79 at 14 US sites over six years, coordinated at Wake Forest. Investigators would look at whether metformin delays the onset of conditions such as heart disease, cancer and dementia in people who do not have diabetes.
The estimated cost is $45 million to $70 million. The National Institute on Aging has set aside about $5 million, and fundraising has relied on philanthropists and foundations. Researchers say the central problem is that metformin is a cheap generic, so no pharmaceutical company expects a return on the study.
What the evidence shows so far
Metformin is approved only for type 2 diabetes. It is not approved for aging, and no aging indication is under review at the FDA, which does not treat aging as a treatable disease. The case for wider use rests on animal data, which has been mixed, and on observational studies of people with diabetes. Claims circulating online that the trial has enrolled thousands of participants or produced results are inaccurate.
Why it still matters
If the trial showed that metformin moderates aging-related disease, it would open a path for regulators to evaluate drugs that target aging biology instead of one condition at a time. For now, patients and doctors are left with observational evidence and no trial result.