Well, I did a site wide search for both BYM338 and Bimagrumab and came up with absolutely nothing so I wanted to open the door to the discussion of this compound (and all related compounds) as it pertains to gains (something most all of us are in the eternal pursuit of). I'm sure there are people more knowledgeable on this topic and specific antibody than I, so it'd be great to start a discussion/information thread.
BYM338 is a fully human monoclonal antibody, currently under development by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation in Switzerland for treatment of sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM). sIBM is a rare muscle degenerative disease that usually affects adult men and women. The antibody blocks activin type IIb (and to a very small degree, type IIa) receptors, which bind ligands belonging to the Transforming growth factor beta superfamily.1 So... why's this important?
Well, I'm sure many of us are familiar with myostatin, also known as growth differentiation factor 8 (GDF-8). For those who aren't, myostatin is a protein in humans encoded via the MSTN gene and it is a member of the TGF beta protein family which is responsible for negatively regulating muscle hypertrophy and differentiation. To oversimplify, the higher the circulating plasma myostatin levels, the less muscle mass growth and development one can expect to experience. If you were to research myostatin deficiency, one of the first things you would come across would be either "Wendy the Whippet" or "Belgian Blue bulls". Both of these animals have genetic mutations in both copies of their MSTN (for reference, I'm using the human gene) gene, and as such they are significantly more muscular than their mutant-free counterparts.
Seeing as how blocking myostatin could be extraordinarily profitable, the research into myostatin inhibition has been booming since it's discovery in 1997. However, despite what any supplement or pharmaceutical company would like to claim, all human trials seeking to show a significant increase in muscle mass due to myostatin attenuation have failed. In multiple rodent models, the reduction or inhibition of myostation altogether has produced nothing short of extraordinary results. But, when the same model was applied to humans, no significant elevation in muscle mass could be observed - simply suppressing the circulating levels of myostatin in humans (through using of myostatin inhibitors, increasing follistatin levels, etc.) wouldn't do the trick.2,3
Now, however, with Novartis' fully human monoclonal antibody which blocks activin type IIb receptors (primarily responsible for binding myostatin), rather than actually lowering myostatin levels, they seem to have found some success.4 Initial trials in vitro and in vivo have demonstrated a significant increase in muscle mass in human cell cultures, rodents, and humans after treatment with the antibody.5 This antibody from Novartis seems to be just one of many approaches to blocking the activin type IIb receptors, which in itself could open up a whole new arena in regard to supplements, gene-doping, and ultimately, (at least what most of us are interested in) super-physiological muscle growth and development. The antibody is currently in phase 2, where the safety and efficacy of treatment over 52 weeks is being assessed in sIBM patients. The outlook is promising, and the trial is estimated to be completed by December of 2015.6
Cheers!
References:
1 Neurology. 2014 Nov 7. pii: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000001070.
2 Am J Pathol. 2011 Mar;178(3):1287-97. doi: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2010.11.071.
3 Cell Mol Life Sci. 2014 Nov;71(22):4361-71. doi: 10.1007/s00018-014-1689-x. Epub 2014 Jul 31.
4 Mol Cell Biol. 2014 Feb;34(4):606-18. doi: 10.1128/MCB.01307-13. Epub 2013 Dec 2.
5 Expert Opin Investig Drugs. 2014 Dec;23(12):1655-69. doi: 10.1517/13543784.2014.942729. Epub 2014 Jul 24.
6 www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01925209
BYM338 is a fully human monoclonal antibody, currently under development by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation in Switzerland for treatment of sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM). sIBM is a rare muscle degenerative disease that usually affects adult men and women. The antibody blocks activin type IIb (and to a very small degree, type IIa) receptors, which bind ligands belonging to the Transforming growth factor beta superfamily.1 So... why's this important?
Well, I'm sure many of us are familiar with myostatin, also known as growth differentiation factor 8 (GDF-8). For those who aren't, myostatin is a protein in humans encoded via the MSTN gene and it is a member of the TGF beta protein family which is responsible for negatively regulating muscle hypertrophy and differentiation. To oversimplify, the higher the circulating plasma myostatin levels, the less muscle mass growth and development one can expect to experience. If you were to research myostatin deficiency, one of the first things you would come across would be either "Wendy the Whippet" or "Belgian Blue bulls". Both of these animals have genetic mutations in both copies of their MSTN (for reference, I'm using the human gene) gene, and as such they are significantly more muscular than their mutant-free counterparts.
Seeing as how blocking myostatin could be extraordinarily profitable, the research into myostatin inhibition has been booming since it's discovery in 1997. However, despite what any supplement or pharmaceutical company would like to claim, all human trials seeking to show a significant increase in muscle mass due to myostatin attenuation have failed. In multiple rodent models, the reduction or inhibition of myostation altogether has produced nothing short of extraordinary results. But, when the same model was applied to humans, no significant elevation in muscle mass could be observed - simply suppressing the circulating levels of myostatin in humans (through using of myostatin inhibitors, increasing follistatin levels, etc.) wouldn't do the trick.2,3
Now, however, with Novartis' fully human monoclonal antibody which blocks activin type IIb receptors (primarily responsible for binding myostatin), rather than actually lowering myostatin levels, they seem to have found some success.4 Initial trials in vitro and in vivo have demonstrated a significant increase in muscle mass in human cell cultures, rodents, and humans after treatment with the antibody.5 This antibody from Novartis seems to be just one of many approaches to blocking the activin type IIb receptors, which in itself could open up a whole new arena in regard to supplements, gene-doping, and ultimately, (at least what most of us are interested in) super-physiological muscle growth and development. The antibody is currently in phase 2, where the safety and efficacy of treatment over 52 weeks is being assessed in sIBM patients. The outlook is promising, and the trial is estimated to be completed by December of 2015.6
Cheers!
References:
1 Neurology. 2014 Nov 7. pii: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000001070.
2 Am J Pathol. 2011 Mar;178(3):1287-97. doi: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2010.11.071.
3 Cell Mol Life Sci. 2014 Nov;71(22):4361-71. doi: 10.1007/s00018-014-1689-x. Epub 2014 Jul 31.
4 Mol Cell Biol. 2014 Feb;34(4):606-18. doi: 10.1128/MCB.01307-13. Epub 2013 Dec 2.
5 Expert Opin Investig Drugs. 2014 Dec;23(12):1655-69. doi: 10.1517/13543784.2014.942729. Epub 2014 Jul 24.
6 www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01925209
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