KineMed, Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in translational and personalized medicine, has entered into an agreement with BioPharma Forest, Inc., a Japanese venture company, to develop and commercialise synthetic Ghrelin.

Under the terms of the agreement, KineMed will develop the late-stage appetite stimulating agent, synthetic Ghrelin, for indications associated with muscle wasting. KineMed will apply its platform technology to assess skeletal muscle protein synthesis and whole body muscle mass to provide key decision-making data in an initial phase II trial in 2016.

“Acquiring this late-stage asset furthers our purpose as a strong drug development company," said Patrick Doyle, president of KineMed. “By adding Ghrelin to our pipeline, we are leveraging our strengths in the area of muscle related disorders,” he added.

KineMed has world leading knowledge and experience in the muscle wasting area and believes its expertise, combined with application of its dynamic proteomic biomarkers of muscle anabolism, enables KineMed to carry out rapid proof-of-concept trials with a high degree of confidence for early detection and predictive efficacy in treating muscle wasting.

“Synthetic Ghrelin is a powerful orexigenic agent with strong anabolic effect,” added William Evans, Ph.D., president of KineMed’s Muscle & Wellness Division and a world leader in muscle metabolism and nutrition.

“We are excited about applying this new medicine in patients with muscle wasting. This represents a new therapy to treat those patients who have lost both body weight and muscle mass, in a condition where there is no currently approved drug for this purpose.”

Professor Kenji Kangawa, who made the original discovery of Ghrelin, added, “Ghrelin has many positive metabolic effects, and its development as a medicine to treat patients with weight loss and muscle wasting has great promise; however, it is essential that Ghrelin is evaluated in clinical trials that select the right patient population to show the true benefit of this new medicine. I am delighted that KineMed will be applying its deep knowledge in this area to do exactly that.”

Financial terms of the agreement were not released.