The brief

Analyst view

• Given over $189 million to support 4,300+ early- and mid-career researchers on aging.
• TAME: aims to test if aging itself is treatable via metformin trial in 3,000 healthy adults aged 65–79 over 6 years.
• TAME funding incomplete: requires $45–75M total. Metformin is generic; no drug company has financial incentive.

Technical approach

As reported

Research Model

Funding discovery and translation

AFAR funds small grants to individual researchers and large multicenter trials like TAME. This dual approach funds both discovery and translation.

Aging as Disease

Reframing aging for regulatory approval

TAME supports FDA accepting 'aging' as a disease indication. Success opens a regulatory pathway for drugs that slow aging.

Off-Patent Compounds

Testing cheap, generic drugs

Metformin costs less than $10/month. No pharmaceutical company will fund a trial (no patent return). AFAR fills this gap with philanthropic funding.