Satellos Bioscience Provides Update on Novel Regenerative Drug Candidates
March 15, 2022 7:00 AM EDT | Source: Satellos Bioscience Inc.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 15, 2022) - Satellos Bioscience Inc. (TSXV: MSCL) ("Satellos" or the "Company"), a biotechnology company developing therapeutics that have the potential to transform the way degenerative muscle diseases are treated, today announced progress in designing and developing the world's first small molecule drug candidates intended to restore the body's innate cycle of muscle regeneration.
Satellos has discovered that muscle degeneration and loss of function in Duchenne muscular dystrophy ("Duchenne") is driven by perturbations in the way muscle stem cells divide, wherein a process known as cell "polarity" is defective. Correcting polarity deficits in muscle stem cells is a novel and potentially disease modifying therapeutic approach being pioneered by Satellos for the treatment of severe muscle disorders including Duchenne, the Company's lead indication. Satellos' scientists have previously shown, in preclinical research studies, that modulating muscle stem cell polarity with an early generation small molecule drug candidate has the capacity to regenerate functional muscle fibres in the mdx mouse model, a model bearing the same genetic loss of dystrophin as seen in Duchenne. Satellos believes their technology offers a breakthrough for the therapeutic treatment of the debilitating damage that accumulates in the muscles of Duchenne patients and potentially other degenerative muscle conditions.
"To-date we have invented three unique and proprietary chemical series or classes of small molecule compounds with the potential to modulate muscle stem cell polarity, from which we have designed and screened hundreds of novel drug candidates. I am pleased to announce that we are prioritizing several of our most promising compounds to be advanced into adsorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion or "ADME" studies as well as pharmacokinetics or "PK" profiling. This development represents an important milestone in our efforts to optimize and select a lead drug candidate, a key priority for this year" said Dr. Sridhar Narayan, Vice President Drug Discovery and Program Leadership.
Added Frank Gleeson, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, "I am proud of our team's resourcefulness and commitment in creating what we believe to be the world's first classes of drug candidates with the potential to correct deficits in stem cell polarity and restore muscle regeneration. Today's announcement signals tangible progress in turning our vision into reality as we progress towards our key goal during 2022 of nominating and advancing a lead drug candidate."
About Duchenne
Duchenne is a fatal genetic disease that slowly and progressively robs people of their muscle strength and function. Diagnosed in childhood, affecting approximately one in 5,000 live male births, Duchenne is caused by a change in the dystrophin gene. It was discovered by Dr. Michael Rudnicki, the scientific founder of Satellos, that muscle stem cells in people living with Duchenne are severely compromised in their ability to create muscle progenitor cells which repair injured muscle. As a result, people with Duchenne are unable to keep up with the continuous damage to their muscles that accumulates throughout life.
About Satellos Bioscience Inc.
Satellos is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing lifechanging medicines to treat degenerative muscle conditions. Our scientists discovered what we believe to be a previously unrecognized root cause of skeletal muscle degeneration. One which has the potential to transform how muscle disorders are treated. Our scientific founder, Dr. Michael Rudnicki, is a thought leader who discovered and has shown how muscle stem cells regulate muscle repair and growth throughout life. He has shown how defects in a process known as stem cell "polarity", which controls how muscle stem cells divide to create muscle progenitor cells, lead to a failure of muscle regeneration in Duchenne and potentially other muscle disorders. As a result of this ongoing inability to produce sufficient numbers of new muscle cells, the muscles of people living with Duchenne are unable to keep up with and repair the continuous and accumulating damage their muscles experience. Satellos' lead program is focused on developing an oral therapeutic drug (i.e., a pill) intended to correct muscle stem cell polarity and restore the body's innate muscle repair and regeneration process. We believe our unique therapeutic approach represents a potential disease modifying treatment for Duchenne and other dystrophies, offering new hope to patients. To expand our programs to other degenerative muscle conditions or disorders, Satellos has created a proprietary discovery platform, MyoReGenX™, which we utilize to identify disease situations where deficits in muscle stem cell polarity and regeneration occur and are amenable to therapeutic treatment. For more information about or to discuss potential collaborations with Satellos concerning our discovery platform and therapeutic candidates or our subsidiary Amphotericin B Technologies Inc., please contact Ryan Mitchell, PhD, Director - Business Development at rmitchell@satellos.com or visit Satellos.com.
CONTACTS:
Christina Cameron
Investor Relations
Satellos Bioscience Inc.
ccameron@satellos.com
647.660.1780
Notice on forward-looking statements:
This press release includes forward-looking information or forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian and U.S. securities laws regarding Satellos and its business, which may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the anticipated benefits of modulating stem cell polarity; its prospective impact on Duchenne patients and muscle regeneration generally; projected benefits of Satellos' therapeutic approach, including small molecule drug candidates; Satellos' technologies and drug development plans; the timeline to commence clinical trial testing in humans; the planned advancement of Satellos research and development; and the Company's priorities and anticipated achievement of milestones and evaluation plans for drug molecules. All statements that are, or information which is, not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, are "forward-looking information or statements". Often but not always, forward-looking information or statements can be identified by the use of words such as "progress", "aimed", "plan", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "objective", "potentially", "ongoing efforts", "develop", "pioneering", "milestone", "further", "prospect" or any variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "might", "could", "would" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Such statements are based on the current expectations and views of future events of the management of the Company. They are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Although management believes that the assumptions underlying these statements are reasonable, they may prove to be incorrect. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release, may not occur and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the Company, including risks relating to the pharmaceutical and bioscience industry, general market conditions and equity markets, economic factors and management's ability to manage and to operate the business of the Company generally. Although Satellos has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or information. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Satellos does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the content of this press release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulatory Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
Not For Distribution in the US
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/116326