Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy Invests $1 Million in Satellos Bioscience to Support New Regenerative Medicine Technology

HACKENSACK, N.J., Jan. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD), a nonprofit organization leading the fight to end Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Duchenne), today announced a $1 million programmatic investment in Satellos Bioscience Inc. (Satellos) to support the development of a new regenerative medicine for the therapeutic treatment of Duchenne.

Duchenne is the most common fatal genetic disorder diagnosed in childhood, affecting approximately one in 5,000 live male births. Duchenne is caused by a change in the dystrophin gene. In people living with Duchenne, it was discovered by Dr. Michael Rudnicki, the scientific founder of Satellos, that muscle stem cells 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 throughout life.

Satellos's technology is based on this ground-breaking discovery into what controls muscle stem cell differentiation, and the significant impact its dysregulation has on the progressive nature of Duchenne. The company is developing a means to correct this problem through a novel therapeutic approach involving the administration of a small molecule drug, which mobilizes the body's own muscle stem cells, also known as satellite cells, to repair and regenerate muscles.

Such a small molecule drug could be used to treat all people living with Duchenne and furthermore, could be used throughout life to boost the continuous repair and regeneration of skeletal muscle ravaged by this disease, thereby enhancing and extending the lives of people with Duchenne.

"For over 25 years, PPMD has been committed to exploring and supporting every single therapeutic possibility. With this programmatic investment in Satellos, we continue our cutting-edge approach to accelerate finding treatments that have the potential to end Duchenne for every single person impacted by the disease," said Eric Camino, PhD, PPMD's Vice President of Research and Clinical Innovation. "There is compelling proof of concept data showing that the Satellos technology can improve muscle quality and restore function in the mdx mouse model of Duchenne. This investment from PPMD will enable the Satellos team to build on their proof of concept by amplifying their efforts to invent and refine a drug development candidate suitable for testing in humans."

"We are delighted to be working with PPMD and proud to have the therapeutic potential of our novel science recognized by such a leading entity in the fight against Duchenne", said Frank Gleeson, Satellos founder and CEO. "Our profound discoveries into how muscle stem cells repair and regenerate muscle offers a new avenue for addressing a root cause of the progressive debilitation characteristic of Duchenne. Support from PPMD will enable us to accelerate the development of our new treatment approach which offers the promise of helping Duchenne patients of all ages and stages of disease."   

To learn more about PPMD's robust Research Strategy, funding initiatives, and strategies for accelerating drug development, click here.

ABOUT PARENT PROJECT MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY:

Duchenne is a fatal genetic disorder that slowly robs people of their muscle strength. Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) fights every single battle necessary to end Duchenne.

We demand optimal care standards and ensure every family has access to expert healthcare providers, cutting edge treatments, and a community of support. We invest deeply in treatments for this generation of Duchenne patients and in research that will benefit future generations. Our advocacy efforts have secured hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and won four FDA approvals.

Everything we do—and everything we have done since our founding in 1994—helps those with Duchenne live longer, stronger lives. We will not rest until we end Duchenne for every single person affected by the disease. Join our fight against Duchenne at EndDuchenne.org. Follow PPMD on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. 

ABOUT SATELLOS BIOSCIENCE INC.:

Satellos is a regenerative medicine company dedicated to developing novel therapeutics that stimulate or restore muscle regeneration in life threatening disorders. Our founding scientist, Dr. Michael Rudnicki discovered that the dysregulation of stem-cell polarity — a process that balances replenishment of stem cells and production of specialized tissue cells, including muscle — can lead to the inability of the body to properly repair and regenerate muscle throughout life.

Satellos is initially applying these discoveries to our lead program to develop a new therapeutic treatment which restores muscle regeneration in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a lethal degenerative disease. Defects in muscle regeneration are also causative in many chronic conditions which we plan to pursue including sarcopenia (muscle wasting with age), cachexia (muscle wasting from chemotherapy or smoking) and various dystrophies.  Founded in 2018, Satellos is headquartered in Canada. For more information about Satellos' discovery platform and development programs please visit Satellos.com. 

SOURCE Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD)

Related Links

https://www.parentprojectmd.org