Mohr-Haralampieva, Deana

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Zurich Open Repository andArchiveUniversity of ZurichUniversity LibraryStrickhofstrasse 39CH-8057 Zurichwww.zora.uzh.chYear: 2021No stress: regaining bladder control through personalised cell therapyMohr-Haralampieva, DeanaPosted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of ZurichZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-215711Journal ArticlePublished VersionOriginally published at:Mohr-Haralampieva, Deana (2021). No stress: regaining bladder control through personalised cell ther-apy. Biopharma Dealmakers:online.A D V E R T I S E M E N T  F E A T U R EADV E R T I S E R R E TA I N S S O L E R E S P ON S I B I L I T Y FO R CON T E N TMUVON Therapeutics AGwww.muvon-therapeutics.comNostress: regaining bladder controlthrough personalised cell therapyMUVON Therapeutics has developed a patent-protected, GMP-compliant method for isolatingand expanding muscle precursor cells that are injected into patients to promote regenerationof skeletal muscle, with an initial application in stress urinary incontinence.Worldwide, around 200 million people are diag-nosedwith stress urinary incontinence (SUI), withwomenmaking up75%of SUI patients. The actualnumber of SUI cases is likelymuchhigher, asmanypeople do not seek or receive medical attentionfor their condition. SUI is the predominant typeof incontinence in women, and develops in 25%of women after pregnancy and childbirth. Casesof SUI vary in severity, but for all patients it is anembarrassing condition that significantly impactsquality of life, and can lead to severe depression.CurrenttherapyforSUIrevolvesaroundbehaviouralchange suchas avoiding caffeinateddrinksor losingweight, aswell as exercises to strengthen thepelvicfloor and, in somesituations, surgery–interventionsthat are often limited in their efficacy and the lengthof time they provide benefits, andwhich can causeserious adverse events. Crucially, these interven-tions do not rectify the underlying problem, andonly offer symptomatic relief.Regenerative autologous cell therapyMUVONTherapeutics is developing a novel, long-term solution to SUI by targeting the underlyingcause of the disease using autologous cell therapyfor the regeneration of the sphinctermuscle tissuethat supports bladder control. Todate, personalisedcell therapies have mostly been developed fordeadly diseases. MUVON wants to change thisparadigm and bring personalised cell therapy topatientswith conditions that,while non-life threat-ening, are debilitating and significantly affect day-to-day living. MUVON, headquartered in Zürich,Switzerland, was founded in 2020 and grew outof postgraduate research at the ETH Zurich andUniversity of Zurich done by Deana Mohr, whotoday serves as MUVON’s CEO, on regeneratingskeletal muscle tissue. The award of funding fromthe highly competitive Horizon 2020 programmeestablished by the European Union set a solidground for the founding of the company.Building onMohr’s earlywork,MUVONhas cre-ated a platform technology with applications in awide range of indications inwhich loss orweaken-ing of skeletal muscle plays a role, many of whichare seriously debilitating.MUVONhas decided tofocus on SUI in the first instance to establish thefeasibility of personalised cell therapy for non-fatalconditions, but plans to extend its portfolio basedon the in-house production approach.The therapy begins by taking a small musclebiopsy from patients under local anaesthesia, andthen isolating dormantmuscle stemcells from thebiopsy. During this process the stem cells are acti-vated and proliferate into muscle precursor cells(MPCs),which are then assessed for quality beforebeing injected back into patients. Here, the MPCsdifferentiate to formnewmuscle fibres and connectwith existing muscle tissue, leading to regenera-tion of the muscle, which is further supported byelectromagnetic stimulation (Fig. 1).Phase 1 trials in progressOver thepast decade,MUVONhasdefined thebestcell-culturing conditions for growing the right popu-lation of cells, at the right stage of differentiation, toachieve the greatest therapeutic effect. Preclinicalstudies in mice, rats and dogs have demonstratedthat MUVON’s autologous cell therapy achievesfunctional regeneration of skeletalmuscle,withoutadverse side effects. In 2020,MUVON initiated itsphase 1 trial; the treatment phase of the trial hasbeen completed, with the last follow up visit of thelast patient planned for September 2021.MUVONhas also recently secured funding for running aphase 2 trial over the next three years.In the early days ofMUVON, a great deal of effortwas invested in turning a laboratory procedure intoa GMP-compliant production process, which hasbeenachievedwith theunderlying intellectual prop-erty protected. A next critical step for MUVON isto automate the process so that it can be used indifferent locations and settings andyet still deliver aconsistent quality of product at amanageable price.MUVON welcomes discussions with potentialinvestors who would like to be part of this journeyto bring control and dignity back to the lives ofmil-lions of people.Fig. 1 | MUVON’s proprietary process for harvesting and re-injecting autologous cells to stimulatemuscle growth.Deana Mohr-HaralampievaMUVON Therapeutics AGZürich, SwitzerlandTel: +41 75 43 23 017Email: info@muvon-therapeutics.chCONTACT“Preclinical studies inmice, rats and dogshave demonstrated thatMUVON’s autologouscell therapy achievesfunctional regeneration ofskeletal muscle, withoutadverse side effectswww.nature.com/biopharmdeal | September 2021 | B15

No stress: regaining bladder control through personalised cell therapy

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