TAME — Targeting Aging with Metformin

Design

TAME (Targeting Aging with Metformin) is a planned multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled RCT of metformin in non-diabetic adults aged ~65–79. The primary outcome is a composite of time to first occurrence of:

• major cardiovascular event,
• cancer,
• dementia,
• death.

The design is novel because it explicitly treats aging itself as the intervention target — not any single disease — and uses a multi-disease composite endpoint.

Why it matters

If successful, TAME would be the first regulatory-grade RCT to demonstrate that a drug can slow the rate at which multiple age-related diseases develop. Beyond metformin itself, the trial is meant to establish a template that the FDA could accept for future geroscience drugs.

Status

Years in development under the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), led by Nir Barzilai. Funding and regulatory groundwork has been the main bottleneck rather than the science; check the AFAR site for the current status and enrolment.

What it won’t answer

• Whether metformin extends lifespan in healthy adults (composite morbidity endpoint, not mortality alone).
• Whether off-label use in younger, healthier adults provides any benefit.
• Whether metformin interferes with the cardiometabolic benefit of exercise in a meaningful way over years.

Related entries

See also: Metformin, Deregulated nutrient-sensing.