Bryan Johnson, known for spending $2M annually to reverse his body's aging process, stopped taking a drug that had been tested on mice after experiencing severe side effects.
The businessman had discussed its "longevity benefits" in his Netflix documentary, Don't Die: The Man Who Wants To Live Forever.
Johnson consumed 13 milligrams of the immunosuppressant rapamycin every two weeks, which is used by transplant patients to prevent organ rejection.
Highlights
- Bryan Johnson stopped taking rapamycin due to severe side effects.
- Rapamycin, tested on mice, is not FDA approved for anti-aging.
- Johnson's Project Blueprint aims to reverse his body's natural aging process.
Image credits: bryanjohnson_
Though it's not FDA-approved for anti-aging, rapamycin is being prescribed off-label for that purpose, as it has been shown to extend the healthy lifespan of mice, the NY Post reported.
Johnson had been taking rapamycin for five years and stopped last September.
"I take this because there's potentially some longevity benefits," the 47-year-old explained in his documentary. "It's the kind of thing in the longevity community that people are excited about."
"Outside the longevity community, it's still kind of crazy, like [if you say], 'Yeah, I take an immune-suppressing drug.' [People react], 'Like, that's wacky and why would you ever do that?'"
Image credits: bryanjohnson_
In a recent social media post, the billionaire revealed that rapamycin had caused several side effects, including skin infections, abnormal levels of fat in his blood, elevated glucose levels, and an increased resting heart rate.
"I have tested various rapamycin protocols including weekly (5, 6, and 10 mg dose schedules), biweekly (13 mg) and alternating weekly (6/13mg) to optimize rejuvenation and limit side effects," he explained on November 14.
"Despite the immense potential from pre-clinical trials, my team and I came to the conclusion that the benefits of lifelong dosing of rapamycin do not justify the hefty side-effects."
Citing a study published in October 2024, he concluded that rapamycin "increased biological aging according to two [measures], while ineffective according to the others."
For five years, Johnson took rapamycin, which has been shown to extend the healthy lifespan of mice
Image credits: Netflix/Tudum
In October 2021, Johnson caused controversy by announcing Project Blueprint, a series of treatments aimed at reversing his biological age, Bored Panda previously reported.
This involves ingesting dozens of pills daily, a strict 2,250-calorie vegan diet, and daily exercises—a regimen that reportedly costs him $2 million per year to maintain.
The tech mogul stated that he is succeeding in his mission and celebrates his birthday every 19 months now because he's "dramatically slowed [his] speed of aging."
Doctors featured in the documentary had previously raised concerns about Johnson's rapamycin use.
Image credits: Bryan Johnson
Dr. Vadim Gladyshev, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, emphasized the need for "properly designed experiments" to thoroughly test rapamycin's anti-aging properties.
Dr. Oliver Zolman, who stated that he aims to "reverse aging in all 81 organ types," warned that the antibiotic could cause "very dangerous bacterial infections, pneumonia, cellulitis, or pharyngitis."
In May 2023, Johnson made headlines for undergoing a multigenerational plasma exchange with his 70-year-old father, Richard, and his 17-year-old teenage son, Talmage.
Rapamycin is used to keep the body from rejecting organ and bone marrow transplants
Image credits: Netflix
Image credits: bryanjohnson_
However, three months later, he announced that he would discontinue the blood-swapping therapy after detecting no anti-aging benefits from it.
Johnson also started Project Baby Face. "Hearing my face is not an 18-year-old's; commencing project Baby Face. In case you're wondering, we've focused on maximally slowing my speed of aging, now at .76 (ranking #1 on the leaderboard)," he wrote.
The biohacker believes that facial fat can influence how people perceive youth. As a result, he injected a donor's fat into his face. Doctors reportedly informed him that using his own body fat would pose risks because he couldn't afford to lose any more of it.
After the procedure, he experienced an adverse reaction when his body rejected the donor's fat. "Immediately following the injections, my face began to blow up," he shared.
Johnson reported that the drug caused several side effects, including skin infections and an increased heart rate
Image credits: RPI Research Products International
Image credits: Netflix
"And then it got worse, and worse, and worse until I couldn't even see. It was a severe allergic reaction."
He added: "It was a promising technology, we were excited about it, and we thought it might be a really good path to revolumize, but because I reacted so profoundly, we just couldn't continue it, so that stopped after one therapy."
In an interview with Good Morning Britain, the anti-aging mogul said his goal was to make "death optional."
The tech mogul takes dozens of pills daily and follows a strict diet as part of his attempt to become the "first generation to not die"
Image credits: Netflix
Image credits: Netflix
"We dare to ask, will we be the first generation to not die?" Project Blueprint's website notes in a section titled "Rebel against aging."
Johnson has also developed a health app called Don't Die that lets users track "how much daily progress they are making towards longevity best practices."
"He's missing out on life by worrying about it," a reader pointed out
