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Startup leverages cultivated muscle tissue generation technology to identify new drugs for muscle mass preservation and restoration.
Israeli startup ProFuse Technology has launched a drug discovery platform aimed at preventing muscle loss caused by aging, weight-loss treatments and cancer. Specializing in the development of cultivated muscle tissue, the company has pioneered methods to generate highly mature muscle tissues that closely resemble natural human muscle – this technology is now being leveraged to identify potential drug candidates for muscle mass preservation and restoration.
Founded in 2021, ProFuse emerged from research conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science, where its founders identified a natural muscle regeneration and repair process that served as the foundation for the company’s technology. Initially focused on the cultivated meat industry, the company has expanded its focus to drug discovery.
Interest in muscle-preserving therapies has grown with the rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. While effective for weight loss, these drugs also appear to contribute to unintended muscle mass reduction. Other areas focus for ProFuse include sarcopenia, an age-related condition involving loss of muscle mass and strength that results in increased frailty as we age, and cachexia, which leads to severe muscle wasting in advanced-stage cancer patients.
“ProFuse’s timing for entering the market is excellent,” said CEO Guy Nevo-Michrowski. “Weight-loss drugs lead to muscle mass loss, prompting pharmaceutical companies to invest significant resources in developing innovative treatments that combine GLP-1 weight-loss drugs with muscle mass preservation therapies. As a result, several major deals in the muscle preservation drug sector have been signed in recent years, with transaction values reaching several billion dollars.”
Guy Nevo-Michrowski is CEO and co-founder of ProFuse.
ProFuse’s technology accelerates the differentiation, fusion and maturation rate of muscle progenitor cells, leveraging “proprietary media supplements” that optimize these processes. The company says the resulting muscle tissue exhibits a high degree of biological relevance, featuring organized sarcomeres indicative of mature contractile function. By enabling the cultivation of fully mature and functional human muscle cells in 3D environments, the platform provides an advanced in-vitro model for drug discovery.
The ProFuse platform integrates advanced automation to screen drug candidates with high efficiency. Compared to conventional models that rely on animal testing, the company claims its technology facilitates precise, large-scale testing that reduces research time, resource consumption and costs.
A key component of ProFuse’s drug screening approach is its muscle image analysis system, which allows real-time evaluation of muscle physiology and disease status in both 2D and 3D models. The system measures essential parameters such as fiber size, maturity, and fusion index. The company also says it has developed specialized reporter cell lines that express muscle maturation and atrophy markers to enable continuous, accurate assessment of skeletal muscle health.
In addition to its discovery platform announcement, ProFuse revealed it has appointed Anat Naschitz to its Board of Directors. A seasoned investor and entrepreneur in the life sciences sector, Naschitz co-founded OrbiMed Israel, part of the global healthcare investment giant.
“I am grateful to ProFuse for the opportunity to be part of the journey in discovering and developing drugs that prevent muscle mass loss – an important clinical need requiring a solution,” said Naschitz. “I was impressed by the company’s and management’s ability to demonstrate resilience in the face of challenges requiring adaptation and change.”
The company has secured approximately $8 million in funding, including $3 million in grants from the European Union and the Israel Innovation Authority, alongside $5 million from investors including OurCrowd, Green Circle Capital, Tnuva, Tempo and others.
Images courtesy of ProFuse