Axcella Enters into Collaboration with CYTOO to Explore Impact of Dysregulated Metabolism on Muscle Physiology
Intend to identify EMM compositions that promote skeletal muscle growth and function across multiple disease contexts
Axcella Health, a biotechnology company pioneering the research and development of novel multifactorial interventions to address dysregulated metabolism and support health, today announced a collaboration with CYTOO aimed at informing the development of new AXA Candidates by leveraging CYTOO’s MyoScreenTM muscle-on-a-plate platform. This platform is expected to enable a deeper understanding of how endogenous metabolic modulator (EMM) compositions influence cellular processes governing the maintenance of muscle mass and function.
Skeletal muscle is an essential metabolic organ that is critical for whole-body glucose and protein handling. Dysregulated metabolism causes accelerated muscle wasting and is associated with a variety of pathological conditions from atrophy to liver failure. Muscle wasting results in decreased quality of life, loss of independence, and significant morbidity and mortality in both normal aging and in complex diseases.
“Dysregulated muscle metabolism severely impairs health and is an area with significant unmet need,” said Tony Tramontin, Chief Scientific Officer of Axcella. “Muscle physiology is a key underpinning of our AXA Candidates, including AXA2678 in disuse atrophy and AXA1665 in hepatic encephalopathy, and we believe this collaboration creates the potential for further advances on this front. We are proud to team with CYTOO to further characterize the benefit that EMMs may have on dysregulated muscle metabolism and physiology in a variety of disease conditions.”
CYTOO’s MyoScreen muscle-on-a-plate platform uses patients’ primary cells to establish culture conditions that mimic the morphology, contractile and metabolic functions of human muscle in vivo. MyoScreen enables the generation of metabolic-phenotypic models and allows for rapid, high-throughput and iterative combinatorial screening of Axcella’s EMMs with the potential to address metabolic deficits associated with skeletal muscle dysfunction and related complex diseases.
Dr. Luc Selig, CYTOO’s CEO, said, “Through its innovative R&D and its non-IND clinical studies, Axcella Health is developing novel insights about the vital role that EMMs play in a variety of metabolic disorders. We are excited to play a role in furthering this important work and exploring the effects that novel EMM combinations may have on skeletal muscle to foster greater health and combat complex diseases.”
