LONDON, March 9, 2026, 22:16 GMT
Haleon’s Centrum Silver multivitamin showed a slight slowdown in biological aging markers among older adults, according to an ancillary analysis from the COSMOS trial, detailed in a Nature Medicine paper published Monday. The findings land as a scientific boost for the British consumer health group’s flagship brand.
Timing counts for Haleon. Back on Feb. 25, the company set its sights on 2026 organic revenue growth between 3% and 5% — that’s excluding currency effects and recent acquisitions — after soft U.S. demand and aggressive price moves from competitors took a bite out of sales. “The squeeze is apparent even in over-the-counter medicines,” noted Chris Beckett at Quilter Cheviot. Reuters
A team from Mass General Brigham and Augusta University tracked 958 healthy adults, average age 70, using five different epigenetic clocks—tools that estimate biological age from DNA. Taking a daily multivitamin slowed aging in two of the newer, mortality-linked clocks versus placebo, with the effect translating to roughly four months’ less biological aging across two years.
Howard Sesso, senior author, called the results a chance to explore “accessible, safe interventions” for healthier aging. Next up, according to co-author Yanbin Dong: checking if the effect “persists after the trial ends.” Mass General Brigham
Haleon responded positively to the findings. Alpa V. Shah, senior director of medical and scientific affairs, noted the results “add to a growing body of evidence” supporting multivitamin use for healthy aging. The company confirmed that Centrum Silver was the multivitamin tested in the trial. Business Wire
The study comes at a tricky point for Haleon’s North American vitamins, minerals and supplements business—the company’s biggest. In full-year numbers released Feb. 25, Haleon reported a rebound for the region’s multivitamin segment in the second half of 2025, crediting cognitive health claims tied to Centrum Silver for helping boost share. Earlier in the year, however, tougher market conditions and heavy promotional activity had been a drag.
That’s not a small thing in packed aisles. Haleon’s up against Bayer’s One A Day in the supplements game, and new clinical evidence gives consumer health firms more leverage—both on price and in fighting to keep their products at eye level as customers get choosy.
The paper drew a line: yes, the effect was statistically significant, but the impact was modest. More research will be needed to determine if changes in biological age actually improve long-term health. The authors also made it clear—Haleon (previously Pfizer Consumer Healthcare) provided the pills and packaging, but didn’t influence the trial’s design, operations, data analysis, or writing. For Haleon, which produces Sensodyne, Advil, and Panadol, the results give it something new to pitch as it targets U.S. volume growth and regaining market share, instead of raising prices again this year.
