Elevai Labs Inc. has entered an exclusive agreement with a South Korean company to develop engineered products for weight loss and muscle retention in combination with diabetes drugs that have shown success in rapid weight loss.
Newport Beach-based Elevai (Nasdaq: ELAB) has its laboratories in Folsom. It has a licensing deal with MOA Life Plus Co. Ltd. of South Korea for the new engineered compounds outside of South Korea.
“This license agreement represents a transformational and strategic milestone for Elevai,” said Jordan Plews, CEO and co-founder of Elevai, in a news release.
Elevai plans to work with two novel assets from MOA to work in combination with the diabetes drugs glucagon-like peptide 1, or GLP-1, which have been found to be effective in dramatic weight loss.
One of the side effects of the successful weight loss use of GLP-1 is an unwanted significant muscle loss.
“The adoption and use of other GLP-1 drugs has resulted in rapid weight loss and increases the desire for related aesthetic procedures linked to the side effects from these drugs, including significant unwanted muscle loss,” Plews said. “We see the licensing of these two assets as an opportunity to provide an unmet need and expand into a large and growing multi-billion-dollar market.”
Elevai said it plans to submit for Investigational New Drug clinical trials in 2025 for the probiotic approach of the assets EL-22 and EL-32 in combination with one or more GLP-1 receptor agents in obesity treatment.
Elevai went public in a $6 million initial public offering completed in November.
Elevai is a 2019 startup working on advanced stem cell exosome technology for post-procedure aesthetic skin care patients. Exosomes are components of cell vesicles that contain nucleic acids, proteins, fats and metabolites needed for cell function and reproduction. Elevai manufactures high-end skincare products with stem-cell growth factors used in medical aesthetics treatments. Most of its products are sold through doctors’ offices. The company’s production as well as its research and development laboratories are in Folsom.
