ACE-301 shows potential against muscle disorders

Italian biopharmaceutical firm Acceleron Pharma says that, in preclinical trials, its product candidate ACE-301 demonstrated the ability to increase muscle mass and strength in normal mice and murine models of muscular dystrophy. The findings were presented at the Gordon Research Conference on Myogenesis in Lucca, Italy.

ACE-301 is a protein therapeutic that inhibits negative regulators that would otherwise decrease muscle mass. The agent is based on the activin type IIB receptor which binds myostatin and other negative regulators of muscle mass, thereby preventing its destruction.

In models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, glucocorticoid-induced muscle loss and age-related muscle loss the drug increased muscle mass. The firm said that the compound has the potential to provide a new treatment approach for a wide range of muscle-wasting conditions.