ImmVira Announces First-in-Human Data of Engineered Exosome MVR-EX105 for Fat Reduction and Muscle Preservation by Topical Application at 2025 Annual Congress of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders

SUZHOU, China, Sept. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ImmVira Group ("ImmVira" or the "Company") recently announced that its lead engineered exosome candidate, MVR-EX105 ("EX105") is featured in a poster presentation at the 2025 Annual Congress of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO).

Founded in 1995, IFSO is a leading international professional organization comprising bariatric and metabolic surgeons and integrated health professionals worldwide. It is dedicated to providing optimal surgical care for obesity, improving the treatment of severely obese patients, disseminating knowledge, and fostering collaboration to establish universal standards of care. The IFSO Annual Congress is one of the most influential global conferences for the exchange of knowledge on the surgical treatment of obesity and metabolic diseases, as well as for showcasing new technologies and research.

Developed on OVPENS platform, EX105 employs engineered exosome as a bio-derived nano-size delivery system. It leverages the scientific mechanism of white adipose tissue (WAT) browning to reduce fat. The exosome's surface is armed with three distinct functional proteins including FGF-21, IL-27 and the extracellular domain of ActRIIB. The fat-reduction mechanism of FGF-21 and IL-27 involves converting energy-storing white adipose tissue (WAT) into energy-burning brown adipose tissue (BAT). BAT plays a critical role in blood glucose regulation by breaking down excess fatty acids and glucose to produce heat, thereby effectively reducing and stabilizing blood sugar levels. Additionally, BAT can help prevent obesity and reduce the risk of various diseases, such as type II diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases by increasing energy expenditure and improving metabolic parameters. FGF-21 significantly enhances lipolysis and glucose metabolism, while IL-27, improves insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis, further accelerating fat burning. The ActRIIB extracellular domain carried by EX105 acts as a decoy, competitively preventing the binding to circulating ligands of the TGF-β superfamily. Such binding normally initiates a cascade of intracellular reactions that inhibit muscle cell growth and proliferation. By blocking this interaction, EX105 abrogates this inhibitory pathway, thereby releasing the suppression on muscle growth and achieving the goal of increasing muscle mass. By co-delivering these three functional proteins and harnessing the innate properties of exosomes including efficient transdermal delivery and intracellular transport, EX105 has potential to become a groundbreaking topical-use product for localized fat reduction and muscle preservation.

The poster presents compelling preclinical and human pilot data supporting EX105 as a novel, non-invasive topical treatment for targeted reduction of subcutaneous fat. As confirmed in the in vivo mouse model, the topical application of EX105 contributes to a robust fat-burning effect. Notably, EX105 led to a significant reduction in body weight without affecting food intake, while exhibiting a unique ability to increase the proportion of muscle mass. In addition, it shows that EX105 can significantly downregulate glucose and low-density lipoprotein, highlighting its broader metabolic benefits.

The scientific mechanisms of EX105 were further demonstrated by preliminary findings from a human pilot study. In this study, EX105 was applied topically every three days to the abdominal area of 36 participants. After 28 days of treatment, the results showed an average reduction of 183.9cm³ in abdominal volume and an average decrease of 3.4cm in waist circumference.

Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health. According to Frost and Sullivan, the global population affected by overweight and obesity is both vast and steadily increasing, reaching 1,624.7 million and 988.1 million in 2024, respectively. EX105 leverages the dual scientific mechanisms white adipose tissue browning and simultaneous fat reduction and muscle accretion. It enables targeted delivery of selected functional proteins to achieve precise cellular-level reprogramming of adipose tissue. This approach safely reduces subcutaneous fat and restores metabolic health, offering a novel non-invasive treatment option that combines potency, safety, tolerability and convenience for localized fat reduction and metabolic improvement. 

In July 2025, EX105 passed review by the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients committee and was officially assigned an INCI Name, allowing it to directly enter global markets and usher in a new era of professional-grade at-home solutions for localized fat reduction.

About ImmVira

ImmVira is a global leading clinical-stage biotechnology company that is powered by proprietary biological engineering technology, and is dedicated to the discovery, development, manufacture and commercialization of novel oncolytic immunotherapies and engineered exosome therapies. We have strategically designed and built a risk-balanced product portfolio that comprised both potentially best-in-class oncolytic immunotherapy candidates for solid tumors and innovative engineered exosome assets for clinical application or direct commercialization. Driven by our strategic priority to become a global leader in the full spectrum of bladder cancer treatment development, we have adopted a rationalized, adaptive approach to advance oncolytic immunotherapy candidates with high clinical potential globally. In parallel, leveraging our deep expertise in biological engineering, we have pioneered development of engineered exosome candidates targeting chronic, hard-to-treat diseases as well as age-related conditions. These selected engineered exosome assets are being deliberately accelerated through strategic, differentiated regulatory pathways to enable expedited commercialization and generate sustainable cash flows that will fuel our broader drug development efforts.

SOURCE ImmVira