Pipeline
Our research is focused on diseases associated with longevity that affect the lives of millions of people, are lacking a specific treatment, and also are responsible for a decrease in the life quality of adults and the elderly.
Our research is focused on diseases associated with longevity that affect the lives of millions of people, are lacking a specific treatment, and also are responsible for a decrease in the life quality of adults and the elderly. Diseases, which affect the skeletal muscle tissue, jeopardize muscle performance and impact the life quality of millions of people.
For example, cachexia (in severely ill cancer patients), heart failure, COVID-19, and sarcopenia are responsible for skeletal muscle mass loss and frailty syndrome in elderly people. Metabolic diseases also affect the lives of millions of people throughout the world every year, among them nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, a disease that is part of the nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases spectrum and is characterized by the presence of fat in the liver, inflammation, and fibrosis.
In addition to these diseases, Mirscience is prospecting other target molecules for more illnesses that affect the quality of life and shorten life expectancy.
| Program |
Prof of concept
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Lead optimization
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IND
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Phase 1
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Phase 2
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Phase 3
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MT29 Muscle atrophy Cachexia Sarcopenia |
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Liver diseases NASH |
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| Multiple programs (Undisclosed) |
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Therapy Areas
Muscle disorders
Cachexia associated with cancer and sarcopenia
The skeletal muscle is one of the largest organs in the human body and performs several pivotal functions in the organism, from locomotion and posture to metabolism maintenance. In patients with cachexia or sarcopenia, the skeletal muscle is predominantly affected due to intense and progressive muscle atrophy. Cachexia associated with cancer is a disease that affects oncological patients responsible for weight loss because muscle mass and adipose tissue decrease, and, in consequence, it causes patient weakness, treatment interruption, and death. It is estimated that half of the annual deaths by cancer are caused by cachexia, mainly in lung, stomach, and colorectal cancers.
Sarcopenia, also known as frailty syndrome, affects mainly the elderly and bedridden patients, and it is considered one of the major causes of falls and comorbidities in the elderly which, consequently, sets up a slow recovery after surgeries and fractures compromising the patients’ autonomy and increasing mortality rates.
Mirscience develops molecules that act on two main targets for muscle atrophy: o MuRF1 and Atrogin-1. By inhibiting these targets, our molecules can regenerate muscle mass, and recede atrophy and weakness, results shown in pre-clinical trials.
Metabolic diseases
Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis - NASH
Non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases are illnesses associated with poor diet, obesity, diabetes, and a sedentary lifestyle. They are characterized by the build-up of fat in the liver, which can progress to an inflammatory condition called acute non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
NASH is the second biggest cause of liver transplants worldwide, only behind hepatitis C. When steatohepatitis is left untreated, it can progress to fibrosis that can develop into decompensated cirrhosis and cancer. Mirscience is currently developing pre-clinical trials of 4 molecules for NASH treatment, each molecule focusing on the disease hallmarks of inflammation, fibrosis, lipid metabolism, and oxidative stress.