Moalifeplus Expands US Patent Coverage for Technology-Transferred Candidates 'EL-22' and 'EL-32' to Include Space-Related Muscle Loss

Moalifeplus is accelerating its global business expansion by widening the application range of its muscle loss treatment candidates, which have been licensed out to overseas partners, to include even space environments. With the extension of the patent scope beyond muscle loss caused by obesity treatments and sarcopenia to include muscle loss in microgravity environments, expectations are rising for a reassessment of the technology’s value.

KOSDAQ-listed Moalifeplus announced on September 1 that its proprietary compounds BLS-M22 and BLS-M32 are currently under global development as EL-22 and EL-32, following their technology transfer.

NorthStrive Biosciences, a US biotech company and Moalifeplus’s technology transfer partner, recently filed US patents covering the prevention or mitigation of muscle loss in space environments for EL-22 and EL-32. The US patent application numbers are 19/774,556 and 19/774,575, respectively.

The patents primarily focus on preventing or alleviating lean body mass and skeletal muscle loss that can occur after prolonged exposure to microgravity. They also cover various formulations, methods of administration, and therapeutic combinations, aimed at broadly securing potential uses for the candidate compounds.

EL-22 and EL-32 are candidates that target biological pathways involved in skeletal muscle growth and maintenance to prevent or mitigate muscle loss. NorthStrive has already been expanding the patent coverage for these candidates to include muscle mass reduction resulting from use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) class obesity treatments, sarcopenia, disuse atrophy, and veterinary healthcare.

With this new filing, the application scope now covers muscle loss induced by microgravity as well. In space, decreased mechanical load due to reduced gravity leads to decreased skeletal muscle use, which can result in muscle atrophy and strength loss. As long-duration space missions such as lunar or Martian exploration increase, demand for technologies to preserve muscle is expected to grow.

Clinical development is also underway. EL-22, based on Moalifeplus’s BLS-M22, is being prepared for clinical trials in the United States. In accordance with the technology transfer agreement, Moalifeplus will receive a milestone payment of 3 million US dollars upon the commencement of US Phase 2 clinical trials.

The expansion of these patents is also seen as significant because the global partner continues to broaden the application fields for these candidate compounds after the technology transfer. Rather than focusing on a single indication, they are expanding applications around the shared market of muscle loss—covering obesity, sarcopenia, animal healthcare, and space medicine.

A representative from Moalifeplus stated, "This patent application is meaningful in that technologies based on BLS-M22 and BLS-M32 are expanding their scope beyond obesity-related muscle loss and sarcopenia to include animal healthcare and muscle loss in space environments. We will continue to support our global partner’s clinical development and intellectual property expansion to steadily enhance technological value and business performance."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.