Metabolic Longevity · 10mg × 10 vials
In plain terms: FOXO4-DRI is a research compound - oral, fast-acting and well studied.
FOXO4-DRI is a D-retro-inverso peptide built from a fragment of the FOXO4 transcription factor sequence, reverse-engineered with D-amino acids so it resists protease degradation and reaches its target intact. In senescent cells (cells that have stopped dividing but refuse to die, accumulating with age and pumping out inflammatory signals known as SASP), FOXO4 normally binds p53 in the nucleus and holds it there, blocking p53's natural job of triggering apoptosis. FOXO4-DRI is a competitive disruptor: it muscles into the FOXO4-p53 binding interface, releases p53 back into the cytoplasm/mitochondria, and lets p53 do what it would have done in a young cell, which is push the senescent cell into programmed cell death. Healthy non-senescent cells aren't relying on a FOXO4-p53 trap to survive, so they're left untouched. The result, in the 2017 Cell paper that put this peptide on the map (de Keizer / Baar et al, Buus Lab), was selective senolysis: in aged and chemo-aged mice, three pulse doses cleared p16-positive senescent cells from kidney, liver, muscle, and skin, restored kidney function, brought back fur density on bald patches, and roughly doubled running endurance on a treadmill compared to age-matched untreated controls. The "old mouse to young mouse" before/after photographs from that paper, with the bald grey mouse regrowing a full coat after three doses, are what drove FOXO4-DRI into the longevity research community in the first place.
There is currently zero human RCT data. Every efficacy and safety claim above is mouse, in vitro, or single-subject anecdote. This is the most experimental compound on the catalog.
Typical dose ranges by experience level - educational reference. Message us and we tailor it to you.
First-cycle users should plan the three injection days on a low-stress weekend / off-work window. The 2017 mouse data showed transient lethargy in the first 24-48 hours post-dose, and self-experimenter reports echo this in humans (fatigue, mild fever feeling, occasional headache). This is not a "feel great immediately" peptide. The expected payoff is downstream, 4-8 weeks after the cycle completes, as inflammation drops and the body stops carrying the SASP burden from cleared senescent cells.
This is the most-cited community protocol and the one closest to scaled-up mouse dosing (the de Keizer paper used 5 mg/kg in mice spread across three doses; the 5 mg human dose is an empirical floor, not an allometric conversion). One 10 mg kit (10 vials) gives ~3 full cycles at 5 mg per injection, which lines up cleanly with a yearly quarterly schedule. Pair with an NAD+ pulse the week after the cycle ends to support regenerative signaling in the cleared tissue niches.
Advanced users almost always run FOXO4-DRI inside a broader longevity program (Epithalon 10-20 day pulse twice yearly, NAD+ weekly maintenance, GHK-Cu, possibly thymalin / thymosin alpha-1). The senolytic clears the cells, the regenerative stack rebuilds the tissue niche, and the immune-modulating layer reduces re-accumulation. Running FOXO4-DRI alone every quarter without a regenerative follow-up is leaving the second half of the protocol on the table.
Straight talk - what people actually report, and what the studies measured.
Peer-reviewed studies and clinical guidelines - tap any to read the source.
the foundational FOXO4-DRI paper; de Keizer lab; aged + chemo-aged mouse model; fur regrowth, kidney function restoration, treadmill endurance recovery
Read study ↗PubMedBourgeois & Madl, FEBS Letters 2018 - "Regulation of cellular senescence via the FOXO4-p53 axis"mechanistic review of the FOXO4-p53 interaction targeted by FOXO4-DRI
Read study ↗PubMedSenolytic peptide FOXO4-DRI selectively removes senescent cells - review of mechanism and applicationsbroader review including disease-context senolysis (fibrosis, kidney, hematopoietic stem cells)
Read study ↗PubMedPharmacological strategies to target cellular senescencecontext on FOXO4-DRI's place in the senolytic pharmacology landscape (alongside dasatinib + quercetin, fisetin, navitoclax)
Read study ↗PubMedSASP and senolytics in aging - mechanistic backgroundwhy senescent cell clearance matters as a longevity target
Read study ↗Physician commentaryPeter Attia podcast / blog - senolytics overviewmeasured take on senolytics including the FOXO4-DRI mouse data and why human translation is unproven
Read study ↗Aggregated sentiment from public forums & socials - real-world reports, not individual endorsements.
Post-injection fatigue / "flu wave": most-reported acute effect, 24-48 hours post-each-dose, described as low energy, mild body ache, occasional low-grade temperature. Resolves before the next dose. Believed to be the inflammatory wave from clearing the SASP burden.
Headache: moderately common in the 24 hours after the first dose of a cycle, usually milder on doses 2 and 3.
Local injection-site irritation: redness, transient itch, occasional welt at the SubQ site, more pronounced because of the relatively large 1 ml volume. Splitting into two 0.5 ml injections reduces this.
Mild nausea: occasionally reported, usually on the first dose.
Energy / sleep improvement: most-reported delayed effect, typically described 3-6 weeks after cycle completion. Some users report better recovery from training, calmer mood, less morning stiffness.
Hair / skin changes: occasional anecdotal reports of hair regrowth on thinning crowns and skin smoothness, almost always when stacked with GHK-Cu and not from FOXO4-DRI in isolation. The mouse-paper fur regrowth photos drive expectations that solo FOXO4-DRI rarely matches in humans.
Route: SubQ (most common in community use) or IV (per the original mouse protocol, less common in self-experimenters)
Injection site: abdomen (SubQ); rotate sites across the three-dose pulse
Storage: refrigerated, use within 7-14 days because of the size of the peptide and its sensitivity; many users reconstitute one vial at a time and use it immediately, treating remaining vials as freeze-dried until needed
Notes: Inject slowly, the volume (1 ml at 5 mg/ml) is large for a SubQ shot and can sting if pushed fast. Some community protocols split the 5 mg dose into two 0.5 ml SubQ injections at separate sites on the same day to reduce local irritation. Keep vials cold and dark; this peptide is more degradation-sensitive than the standard GLP-1 / growth-hormone class. Schedule the three doses 4 days apart on calm days, the systemic apoptosis cleanup can produce a transient fatigue / flu-like wave on day 1-2 post-injection.