IP Group plc (LON:IPO), which invests in breakthrough science and technology companies with the potential to create a better future for all, has noted that portfolio company Istesso has commenced dosing in IST-03, a Phase 2 clinical trial of its lead candidate, leramistat, in patients with sarcopenia caused by rheumatoid arthritis.
The randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study is evaluating the effects of leramistat on muscle quality, repair and function. Sarcopenia (muscle loss) is a significant and growing unmet need across ageing populations and multiple chronic diseases, for which no specific pharmacological therapies are available.
The clinical study builds on prior rheumatoid arthritis data showing leramistat improved disability and fatigue alongside reductions in markers of muscle loss. This is supported by preclinical findings showing restoration of muscle quality in disease models and recovery of muscle mass, quality and function in aged animals to levels greater than those seen in baseline younger animals.
The aim of the study is to show that it is possible to augment the human capacity to repair. If successful, this would have implications for the treatment of chronic degenerative and age-related diseases.
Leramistat is the lead candidate from Istesso’s novel class of Mitochondrial Complex I Modulators (MCMs), which have demonstrated the ability to induce adaptive tissue repair and regeneration across multiple tissues, including muscle, bone, gut and lung.
Enrolment is currently underway at Newcastle University and Newcastle Hospitals, in conjunction with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) whose specialist facilities and biopsy expertise include advanced imaging and analysis techniques that are ideally suited to delivering this innovative trial.
Greg Smith, Chief Executive of IP Group, said: “This marks an important inflection point for Istesso as it moves into Phase 2 evaluation of a genuinely novel approach to regenerative medicine. The programme is supported by a consistent body of clinical and preclinical data, and we believe the potential to influence underlying tissue repair represents a differentiated and scalable opportunity. Success here would be an important validation of the approach and open up multiple opportunities across large areas of unmet need.”
IP Group has an undiluted holding of 56.5% in Istesso.
