On the similar time, it is usually designing a medical machine to evaluate sarcopenia threat in hospital settings, in addition to figuring out a listing of genes that could possibly be licensed to pharmaceutical corporations engaged on sarcopenia medicines.
Sarcopenia was included within the Worldwide Classification of Ailments by the World Well being Group in 2016 however was solely acknowledged as a illness in South Korea in 2021, Dr. Lee, an orthopedic specialist at Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, instructed NutraIngredients.
The situation is characterised by a progressive lack of skeletal muscle mass, energy and performance related to getting older.
Based on a examine published in the Journal of Bone Metabolism final Could, South Korea’s prevalence of sarcopenia was 6.8%, with a better threat amongst older adults.
Amongst males, the prevalence of sarcopenia was 5.5% within the 60 or older age group, 9.6% within the 70 or older age group, and 21.5% within the 80 or older age group. Amongst girls, the prevalence of sarcopenia was 7.9%, 10.5% and 25.9%, respectively.
But, consciousness of sarcopenia stays low in South Korea with restricted well being information, Dr. Lee stated. As such, he noticed this as a blue ocean market with untapped alternatives.
“Today, many individuals are very keen on anti-aging and longevity. They’re looking for well being dietary supplements, train regimes, and taking part in marathons that assist them obtain their well being targets,” he stated.
“Nonetheless, the time period ‘sarcopenia’ itself will not be as standard. As such, we now have launched our firm alongside the strains of longevity and anti-aging to assist folks higher perceive our firm.”
Biobytes was additionally one of many 5 start-ups that had pitched to Haleon during the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) held from Oct. 29 to 31.
The sarcopenia threat questionnaire
Designed as an internet questionnaire, the sarcopenia threat device assesses grip energy and muscle mass primarily based on an individual’s peak and weight, the variety of falls previously 12 months, and medical check-up information.
Often known as Myotest, the questionnaire produces a muscle well being report inside 10 seconds and is alleged to yield an accuracy fee of 95%.
The danger evaluation is predicated on a synthetic intelligence (AI) algorithm that runs by a biobank containing anthropometric and blood pattern information from 1,500 South Korean sufferers with a mean age of 71. Of those, 900 datasets got here from the federal government database, and the remaining 600 had been collected from sufferers who visited Dr. Lee and his workforce.
The cut-off level is about at 49.5%, the place something better is assessed as having a excessive threat of sarcopenia.
The questionnaire permits people to take sarcopenia threat checks simply with out utilizing complicated, costly diagnostic tools akin to computed tomography (CT) scan or Twin-Power X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, stated Dr. Lee, who can also be the director of the Korean Society of Sarcopenia.
The take a look at has already been launched at 4 college hospitals and 30 clinics, the place medical doctors will comply with up by recommending bodily train, taking well being dietary supplements developed by Biobytes, or performing additional checks akin to a DEXA scan or sonography.
The complement
Biobytes has developed a muscle well being complement, generally known as Biact Tab, in collaboration with orthopedic surgeons, pharmacists, and nurses.
Manufactured by OEM agency FromBIO, it comprises turmeric extract, which is licensed by South Korea’s Ministry of Meals and Drug Security (MFDS) for supporting muscle energy.
Different energetic substances embody leucine, L-glutamine, taurine, and branched-chain amino acids.
Dr. Lee stated the formulation was developed to offer therapeutic doses.
“Based mostly on our search on merchandise bought in South Korea, most corporations use only one or two substances in low quantities, however we provide therapeutic substances on the most dose primarily based on scientific literature,” he stated.
The complement is at the moment accessible on the market on the whole hospitals, together with Wonju Medical Heart, pharmacies akin to Gwangjang Onnuri Pharmacy, partnering clinics, and on the corporate’s on-line retailer and Naver retailer.
Medical machine
The corporate can also be designing a movement recognition-based Quick Bodily Efficiency Battery (SPPB) rating prediction mannequin that could possibly be utilized in hospitals.
The SPPB is a take a look at that assesses bodily perform in older adults, together with steadiness, gait pace, and chair stand efficiency.
To take action, the corporate is growing a tool that may mechanically assess SPPB utilizing video-based measurements and detect physique landmarks primarily based on pose estimation.
Introducing this mannequin may assist alleviate the manpower crunch seen in hospitals.
“The SPPB rating is a key course of to evaluate muscle perform, and it’s normally assessed by medical doctors or nurses, which makes it a labor-intensive course of,” stated Dr. Sol Lee, chief information officer at Biobytes.
“That is why we now have developed an automated algorithm to foretell the SPPB rating,” she stated.
Biobank, gene record, and drug discovery
The corporate can also be engaged on figuring out a listing of genes related to sarcopenia, with the eventual aim of licensing it to pharmaceutical corporations to develop sarcopenia medicines.
It has already began constructing a multi-center sarcopenia biobank to acquire longitudinal scientific and biomarker information from 3,000 sufferers by 2027.
Dr. Lee additionally hopes to introduce the Myotest and the sarcopenia biobank mannequin abroad, together with working with hospitals in the USA and Singapore, to make the outcomes generalizable to populations past South Koreans.
