Pharma Companies Set Sights On Muscle-Building Drugs For The Elderly

Major pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, and Pfizer, among others, are all developing drugs to help the elderly rebuild muscle and improve mobility. These drugs are currently in the clinical trial and early development stage, and some analysts believe that the first drugs could be approved by the FDA in 2016. Industry experts believe that these drugs can help older patients perform critical functions such as walking again, and it is also believed that these drugs can be used to combat muscle loss due to a host of different diseases.

Dr. Se-Jin Lee, a molecular biology professor at John Hopkins University, who in 1997, engineered “Mighty Mice” with enhanced muscles, speaks positively about the research being completed by pharmaceutical companies today. “I am very optimistic about these new drugs,” said Dr. Lee. “The fact that they're so far along means to me they must have seen effects.”

The drugs being produced aim to block myostatin — the protein responsible for slowing muscle growth as people age. Nathan LeBrasseur, an associate professor and muscle specialist at the Mayo Clinic, said that myostatin is a great target for muscle building drugs. “I think the enthusiasm around myostatin is quite clear. If you were to ask for the perfect drug target, it's hard to argue against myostatin because it's so unique to skeletal muscle,” said LeBrasseur.

Novartis, which industry experts believe is the furthest along with its muscle rebuilding drug, is testing products for treatment in age-related muscle wasting, known as sarcopenia. The drug that is currently undergoing the most advanced testing is called BYM338, currently indicated for patients with a rare muscle-wasting disease known as sporadic inclusion-body myositis.

GSK aging and muscle-metabolism expert Bill Evans said that these drugs are high demand, considering the huge potential consumer base for finished drug products. “However you cut it, muscle wasting that has an impact on function is a very, very large patient population,” said Evans. “It really depends where the regulators put the cutoff point, but my guess is it could affect 15% to 20% of the population over the age of 65 or 70.”