Mursla Bio partners with pharma company on drug development

Biotechnology company Mursla Bio has announced a partnership with a pharma company to advance biomarker-guided drug development. While the company has not been named, Mursla Bio says it is a global pharma leader recognised for its expertise in biomarker-guided precision medicine in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Under the collaboration, Mursla Bio’s AI Precision Medicine Platform will generate hepatocyte-specific extracellular vesicle (h-EV) profiles from blood samples. These samples will be collected from a cohort of patients with MASH and matched healthy controls. The collaboration will explore mode-of-action (MoA)-related biomarkers and evaluate biomarker panels to identify patients most likely to benefit from the pharmaceutical company’s investigational therapy. The initial phase will focus on generating insights into liver tissue biology in MASH by building tissue-labeled, high dimensional mRNA and protein datasets from h-EVs in blood. This data will help define MoA-related pathways and patient stratification signatures, strengthening Mursla Bio’s AI liver disease models developed through its MEV01 clinical study and extending their applicability across future programmes. “As the GLP-1 revolution reshapes obesity management, MASH is rapidly emerging as the next major therapeutic focus, and the need for precise liver-specific biomarkers has never been greater,” said Pierre Arsène, Founder and CEO of Mursla Bio. “By profiling intact hepatocyte biology protected within the cargo of h-EVs, we are enabling a new generation of biomarker-guided precision medicine in liver care. This partnership deepens our reach in hepatology, expanding on the foundation established with EvoLiver.” MASH is an advanced stage of fatty liver disease, strongly associated with the global rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes. The condition affects 5-7% of the world’s adult population with more than 75% of those classed as overweight, obese, and living with type 2 diabetes. MASH is characterised by the buildup of excess fat in the liver, which causes inflammation and cell damage. MASH can progress to irreversible scarring (cirrhosis) and, in some cases, lead to liver failure or liver cancer. Bruno Quinney, Content Team, DDW