Northstrive Biosciences Inc., a Subsidiary of PMGC Holdings Inc., Announces Successful Submission of Pre-IND Meeting Request to FDA for EL-22, a Potential Breakthrough Obesity Therapy Targeting Fat Loss and Muscle Preservation in Combination with GLP-1 Rec
February 18 2025 - 6:00AM
Northstrive Biosciences, a subsidiary of PMGC Holdings Inc.
(NASDAQ: ELAB) (“PMGC,” “we,” or “our”), announced the submission
of a pre-IND meeting request to the FDA. Northstrive
anticipates having a Type B pre-IND meeting with the FDA in the
second fiscal quarter of 2025.
Northstrive Biosciences seeks guidance from the FDA on the
acceptability of the nonclinical studies conducted to date and the
clinical development plans for EL-22 administered in combination
with GLP-1 receptor agonists being used to treat subjects that are
overweight or obese. The FDA is expected to respond to the pre-IND
meeting request within the first fiscal quarter of 2025. If this
request is granted, the FDA’s response letter will permit a meeting
scheduled for the second fiscal quarter of 2025.
“While we wait for the FDA’s response to our meeting request, we
have begun working on the meeting package that will outline our
regulatory plans," said Deniel Mero, Co-founder of Northstrive
Biosciences. “Concurrently, we’re also arranging our manufacturing,
including seeking a cGMP partner, to lay the groundwork for the
EL-22 Investigational New Drug.”
EL-22 is a novel, patent-pending engineered probiotic designed
to express myostatin on its surface, targeting the validated
myostatin pathway to support muscle health. Preclinical studies,
including a 2022 publication in mdx mice (a model of Duchenne
muscular dystrophy), demonstrated significant physiological and
functional improvements. 1 A Phase 1 clinical trial has
also been conducted on EL-22 in South Korea, which demonstrated
that EL-22 was generally well-tolerated and safe in healthy
volunteers.
Upon regulatory confirmation, Northstrive Biosciences aims to
file the Investigational New Drug application in 2025 and
thereafter initiate clinical trials to evaluate the combination of
EL-22 with GLP-1 receptor agonists for obesity treatment.
About Northstrive Biosciences
Northstrive Biosciences Inc., a PMGC Holdings Inc. company, is a
biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development and
acquisition of cutting-edge aesthetic medicines. Northstrive
Biosciences’ lead asset, EL-22, leverages an engineered probiotic
approach to address obesity’s pressing issue of preserving muscle
while on weight loss treatments, including GLP-1 receptor agonists.
For more information, please visit www.northstrivebio.com.
About PMGC Holdings Inc.
PMGC Holdings Inc. is a diversified holding company that manages
and grows its portfolio through strategic acquisitions,
investments, and development across various industries. Currently,
our portfolio consists of three wholly owned subsidiaries:
Northstrive Biosciences Inc., PMGC Research Inc., and PMGC Capital
LLC. We are committed to exploring opportunities in multiple
sectors to maximize growth and value. For more information, please
visit https://www.pmgcholdings.com.
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that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements”
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995, as amended. Words such as “believes,” “expects,” “plans,”
“potential,” “would” and “future” or similar expressions such as
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statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent
uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are
difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control.
Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in
these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure
you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the
Company cautions investors that actual results may differ
materially from the anticipated results. Therefore, you should not
rely on any of these forward-looking statements. These and other
risks are described more fully in PMGC Holdings’ filings with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including
the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the SEC on
March 29, 2024, and its other documents subsequently filed with or
furnished to the SEC. Investors and security holders are urged to
read these documents free of charge on the SEC’s web site
at www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements contained in
this press release speak only as of the date on which they were
made. Except to the extent required by law, the Company undertakes
no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that
occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were
made.
IR Contact:IR@pmgcholdings.com
1 Reference: Sung DK, Kim H, Park SE, Lee J, Kim JA, Park
YC, Jeon HB, Chang JW, Lee J. A New Method of Myostatin Inhibition
in Mice via Oral Administration of Lactobacillus
casei Expressing Modified Myostatin Protein, BLS-M22, Int. J.
Mol. Sci. 2022, 23,
9059. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23169059.
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