Elevai Labs Eyes Obesity Treatment Market with Myostatin Inhibitors

Elevai Labs, Inc. announced that it has acquired exclusive rights to two assets (EL-22 and EL-32) aimed at preventing muscle loss and treating obesity, according to a company press release.

The new assets, according to the company, involve engineered probiotics expressing myostatin and dual myostatin & activin-A, respectively. The agreement (excluding South Korea) allows Elevai to develop and commercialize the assets. EL-22 has completed a Phase 1 clinical trial in South Korea, and reported acceptable tolerance and safety in healthy volunteers. Elevai says that it plans to assess its efficacy and safety in combination with existing weight-loss therapeutics to reduce fat mass while preventing muscle wasting.

“This license agreement represents a transforma3onal and strategic milestone for Elevai,” said Jordan R. Plews, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO, in a press release. “The adoption and use of other GLP-1 drugs has resulted in rapid weight loss and increases the desire for related aesthetic procedures linked to the side effects from these drugs, including significant unwanted muscle loss. We see the licensing of these two assets as an opportunity to provide an unmet need and expand into a large and growing multibillion-dollar market.”

Dr. Tim Sayed, Chief Medical Officer of Elevai, said that the acquisition enables the manufacturer to move forward with the development of a novel and viable oral option.

“Myostatin is a clinically validated target that has demonstrated potential in muscle mass and strength building and is currently being tested in combination with GLP-1 weight loss drugs," said Dr. Sayed said in a press release. "With our new additions, we believe that we have a differentiated, oral approach as compared to other myostatin strategies being tested in obesity. Our approach induces mucosal immunity through the body’s own anti-myostatin antibodies, which could have an important role in addressing the unmet medical need of obese patients, who need to preserve muscle while losing weight.”

Source: Elevai Labs press release. May 1, 2024.