We use essential cookies (authentication, your saved goals/stack) by default. With your permission we'll also enable privacy-respecting analytics (Vercel Web Analytics, anonymous load-time metrics) and error-replay diagnostics (Sentry — DOM snapshots only when an error fires) so we can fix bugs faster. Learn more about cookies
Prescription medication — not a dietary supplement
Canakinumabis a prescription (or investigational) drug, not a supplement. It is included here for reference because people research and discuss it (often used off-label) — not as a recommendation. Take it only under a qualified clinician's supervision and only as prescribed; do not source it from grey-market vendors, where identity, purity, and dosing are unverified. The evidence below reflects its clinical trials.
What the evidence says
Most Canakinumab studies are mechanism or observational rather than RCTs that measure a clinical effect — keep findings provisional.
Most evidence is from medium-quality meta-analyses and randomised trials published 2009–2025 with a typical study size of 237 participants.
Based on 6 studies · 1 meta-analysis · 5 RCTs · 10,333 total participants
Confidence
HighBy outcome
Canakinumab has an evidence score of 4/10 — emerging evidence based on 6 indexed studies, including 1 meta-analysis. An injectable anti-interleukin-1β monoclonal antibody (Ilaris), approved for rare periodic fever syndromes. Famous for the landmark CANTOS trial — the first proof that lowering inflammation alone (without touching lipids) cuts cardiovascular events, validating the 'inflammaging' hypothesis. But CANTOS showed NO all-cause-mortality benefit and MORE fatal infections, and the follow-up cancer trials failed. An extremely expensive prescription biologic, not a supplement. Representative study: PMID 40583093.
The commonly studied dose of Canakinumab is A prescription biologic, not self-administered for longevity. Approved CAPS dosing is 150 mg subcutaneously every 8 weeks (weight-adjusted in children). The CANTOS cardiovascular regimen was 150 mg subcutaneously every 3 months. There is NO established off-label longevity protocol, and cost is prohibitive.. Individual needs vary — start at the lower end of the range and adjust based on how you respond.
Nicotinamide Riboside
Mostly mechanism / observationalA vitamin B3 precursor that reliably raises cellular NAD+ levels and is well tolerated — but human trials have so far shown mostly null or mixed results on the functional outcomes (muscle, metabolism, blood pressure, cognition) that elevation is meant to drive.
MitoQ
Mostly mechanism / observationalLast reviewed June 2026 · evidence from 6 studies · how we score
This information is for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before starting, stopping, or changing any supplement or medication.
Canakinumab (Ilaris) — anti-IL-1β monoclonal antibody
An injectable anti-interleukin-1β monoclonal antibody (Ilaris), approved for rare periodic fever syndromes. Famous for the landmark CANTOS trial — the first proof that lowering inflammation alone (without touching lipids) cuts cardiovascular events, validating the 'inflammaging' hypothesis. But CANTOS showed NO all-cause-mortality benefit and MORE fatal infections, and the follow-up cancer trials failed. An extremely expensive prescription biologic, not a supplement.
CANTOS is a landmark proof-of-concept — canakinumab cut recurrent cardiovascular events purely by lowering IL-1β/inflammation, independent of lipids, validating the 'inflammaging' idea — but it showed NO all-cause-mortality benefit and MORE fatal infections, the follow-up CANOPY cancer trials failed, the longevity rationale stays hypothesis-level, and it is an extremely expensive injectable biologic, not a take-able supplement.
Canakinumab (Ilaris) is a fully human monoclonal antibody that binds and neutralizes interleukin-1β (IL-1β), a master pro-inflammatory cytokine released by the NLRP3 inflammasome.
It is approved for rare interleukin-1-driven autoinflammatory diseases — cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS) and other periodic fever syndromes — where its registration trial showed it rapidly induces and maintains remission.
Its place in geroscience comes from the 'inflammaging' hypothesis: chronic, low-grade IL-1β/IL-6 inflammation is a hallmark of aging that drives atherosclerosis, frailty, and cancer.
The landmark CANTOS trial (Ridker, NEJM 2017) randomized ~10,000 post-myocardial-infarction patients with elevated hsCRP to canakinumab or placebo and found that the 150 mg dose significantly reduced recurrent cardiovascular events — crucially, with no change in LDL or other lipids.
This was the first hard-outcome proof that targeting inflammation itself, independent of cholesterol, changes cardiovascular outcomes — a genuine proof-of-concept for the inflammation theory of atherosclerosis. The honest limits are decisive, though.
CANTOS showed NO reduction in all-cause mortality, and canakinumab caused significantly MORE fatal infections than placebo — the net survival balance did not favor the drug.
An exploratory CANTOS analysis suggested lower incident and fatal lung cancer, which generated enormous excitement, but the dedicated CANOPY oncology program that followed FAILED — CANOPY-2 showed no overall-survival benefit in non-small-cell lung cancer.
And canakinumab is an extraordinarily expensive subcutaneous biologic (list price in the tens of thousands of dollars per dose), used for narrow rare-disease indications, not something a person takes for longevity.
The score reflects a genuinely field-defining demonstration that lowering inflammaging reduces cardiovascular events, set against no overall-survival benefit, a real fatal-infection signal, failed anticancer trials, hypothesis-level longevity rationale, and a cost/route that put it far outside any practical 'supplement' use.
Canakinumab is a monoclonal antibody that binds interleukin-1β and blocks it from engaging its receptor — shutting down a master pro-inflammatory cytokine.
By neutralizing IL-1β at the top of the cascade, it lowers downstream IL-6 and hsCRP — the inflammatory axis that drives atherosclerosis.
Chronic IL-1β-driven inflammation is a hallmark of aging; CANTOS tested whether lowering it — independent of cholesterol — changes hard cardiovascular outcomes.
How Canakinumab works — from molecular targets to health outcomes. Click an edge to see supporting research.This visualization is in beta — pathways are being refined and expanded.
Tap node to isolate • Pinch to zoom • Tap edge for research
A prescription biologic, not self-administered for longevity. Approved CAPS dosing is 150 mg subcutaneously every 8 weeks (weight-adjusted in children). The CANTOS cardiovascular regimen was 150 mg subcutaneously every 3 months. There is NO established off-label longevity protocol, and cost is prohibitive.
Can be taken without food
| Form | Type |
|---|---|
| 💊Subcutaneous injection (clinician-administered) | Recommended |
| 💊Anakinra (short-acting IL-1 receptor antagonist); rilonacept (IL-1 trap) — other IL-1-pathway biologics | Alternative |
Canakinumab is the long-acting anti-IL-1β antibody used in CANTOS; the cardiovascular proof-of-concept is specific to this molecule.
Minimum: 8 weeks
Optimal: 52 weeks
Cycling: Not required
Note: Infrequent subcutaneous dosing (every 8 weeks to 3 months). Screen for and treat infection before each dose; avoid live vaccines.
Dose-response data unavailable. The current published research for Canakinumab does not provide sufficient dose-specific outcome data to generate reliable dose-response curves.
Refer to the Dosage & Timing section above for recommended dose ranges based on available evidence.
CANTOS showed the 150 mg dose reduced recurrent cardiovascular events in post-MI patients, independent of any lipid change.
Dose-dependently reduced hsCRP and IL-6 — a clean test of the inflammation hypothesis, with no effect on lipids.
Despite fewer cardiovascular events, CANTOS showed NO reduction in all-cause mortality — the net survival balance did not favor the drug.
Canakinumab caused significantly more fatal infections than placebo — the predictable downside of suppressing innate immunity.
Higher serious-infection risk — careful screening and monitoring; the fatal-infection signal is most concerning here.
Screen and treat before starting; active infection is a contraindication.
Limited data; specialist-directed only for an approved indication — not for off-label longevity use.
Combining IL-1 blockade with other immunosuppression markedly increases serious-infection risk — generally avoided.
Live vaccines should not be given during treatment due to immunosuppression.
Tip: Most common effect of IL-1 blockade; screen for latent infection and hold dosing during active infection.
Tip: Monitor blood counts; injection-site reactions are usually mild.
Tip: CANTOS showed a real excess of fatal infection — a hard limit; promptly evaluate and treat any infection.
Timing is flexible for Canakinumab — consistent daily use matters more than the time of day. An infrequent subcutaneous injection (every 8 weeks to 3 months) given by or under a clinician; timing of day is not a meaningful variable.
Canakinumab should be used with caution — talk to a healthcare provider before taking it. The most commonly reported side effects are infections (including upper respiratory and injection-site), neutropenia / injection-site reactions, serious / fatal infection. Use caution if any of these apply to you: Active or chronic infection; Live vaccines during treatment; Known hypersensitivity to canakinumab.
A mitochondria-targeted antioxidant — CoQ10 conjugated to a triphenylphosphonium (TPP+) cation so it accumulates several-hundred-fold inside mitochondria. Sold OTC as a supplement. Its best human signal is improved endothelial/vascular function in older adults (one small RCT); several trials are null (Parkinson's, exercise adaptation), and almost all outcomes are surrogate/biomarker, not hard clinical endpoints.