Longevity is on our minds. Most of us are looking for ways to live longer and healthier lives whether it is by regular exercise, health screenings or eating better. Or, more simply, we take the latest and greatest supplements and avoid dangerous rock climbing, and that, along with a little luck, we live long healthy lives.
The team at Meridius Bio isn't leaving longevity to chance. They are taking luck out of the equation for millions affected by heart disease, diabetes, and a multitude of other illnesses and accidents that cause wounds and tissue damage. With their revolutionary (and that isn't hyperbole) development of AIMER (Active Immuno-Modulated Enhanced Regeneration) Nanotherapeutic, they plan to restore health and increase longevity for millions. AIMER is a regenerative medicine that has been proven effective in promoting accelerated repair across various types of damaged tissues, including skin, cardiac muscle, cartilage, bone, and nerves.
Addressing Numerous Healthcare Challenges
Acute and chronic wounds stand as formidable challenges in the world of healthcare; they make up 30%–50% of all healthcare cases. And existing therapies are not especially innovative or effective. The Center for Disease and Prevention shares that approximately 805,000 people have heart attacks a year, causing long-term damage to the tissue in the heart. There are nearly 203 amputations daily due to wounds caused by diabetic ulcers. Factor in accidents and injuries that cause wounds and tissue damage, and it is easy to see the need for AIMER. It's worth noting that Meridius Bio's solution also has the potential to dramatically alleviate the vast healthcare costs and burdens associated with these pervasive issues.
The Alpha-Gal Sugar
Being developed by seasoned entrepreneurs Bill Cheliak and Richard Strafehl, AIMER leverages the discovery of alpha-galactose (alpha-gal for short) molecule and its link to the immune response by immunology expert Dr. Uri Galili. Cheliak explains, "Humans, great apes, and old world monkeys don't produce a specific sugar molecule called alpha-gal, naturally found in most mammals. This sugar triggers an immune response in our bodies, which is why organs that are transplanted from animals are rejected. Uri discovered that this sugar, this alpha-gal, is the culprit behind this rejection reaction."
AIMER utilizes the immune system's response to alpha-gal to trigger the healing process. When AIMER, which utilizes the alpha-gal in controlled amounts, is applied topically to wounds, it triggers the Complement System to recruit specialized cells like macrophages and transitions them from an inflammatory to a regenerative role. More simply, it makes the body's defense system active and brings in special cells (macrophages). These cells change their job from causing swelling to helping the wound heal.
Cheliak elaborates, "These macrophages clean up the wound and then transition to repairing it quickly, within 24 to 48 hours. They orchestrate the whole healing process by recruiting stem cells and secreting growth factors, which minimizes scar tissue formation. This process leads to faster and cleaner tissue regeneration, reducing the time needed for healing by 50% to 70%. This has implications for all types of injuries."
"For heart attack patients, a heart attack starves part of the heart muscle of oxygen, causing cell death and weakening the heart's pumping ability. Animal studies have shown that AIMER can actually be injected very locally in the heart, where the damage is, regenerating heart muscle and, within a short period of healing, normal heart function. Similarly, it can be used for regeneration of cartilage. In this use case, it is actually a paste mixed in with the alpha-gal that's injected into the cartilage. It can also be applied that way for topical wounds. The product itself is dry, but it could be put into a gel of some type, or it could simply be put on gauze. There's a number of different ways that it can work," asserts Cheliak.
The versatility of AIMER extends across various medical applications, including ligament and nerve repair. AIMER's nanoparticle nature allows for diverse application methods, ensuring adaptability based on the injury and situation. Notably, AIMER's ability to accelerate healing within the critical first 48 hours could significantly impact patient outcomes and minimize scarring.
Strafehl notes, "Scarring happens when your immune system takes its time in terms of the construction. And that's one of the reasons we kind of came up with this acronym AIMER, where we 'aim' the right workers to recruit the right components of the immune system to respond as quickly as possible and trigger that regenerative activity."
Additionally, the body completely absorbs the alpha-gal over time. In preclinical studies, it is no longer detectable after about three weeks. This indicates that AIMER works with the immune system temporarily, completing its function, and then disappears from the body.
Regulatory Approval and Trials
While regulatory approval poses challenges for all medical solutions, Meridius Bio draws from the evidence of AIMER's success in cancer therapy applications to hopefully expedite the approval process. Strafehl shares, "We know that it's safe and effective in humans for cancer therapy. There's another company that's working on the cancer aspects of this, so we know that part of it is safe. We have some clinical evidence with humans transplanting ligaments conducted 20 years ago by Uri." Additional clinical trials are the next steps in order to ensure patient safety and efficacy. The Meridius Bio team hopes to have approval by 2030.
Cheliak explains, "With adequate funding, there may be a faster route. And this is one of the things that we're discussing with one of our collaborators for healing ligaments and meniscus. Fortunately, our clinical trials are very short. They're like a week or two weeks. Either the wound is healed or it's not. Our endpoints are much faster and much more objective to be able to evaluate efficacy."
Meridius Bio's AIMER nanotherapeutics platform represents a critical advancement towards longevity and healthcare by offering a revolutionary approach to wound management and tissue regeneration. With a visionary team and innovative technology, along with the right partners, Meridius Bio can provide hope for millions worldwide.
Join Meridius Bio in changing the future of healing with AIMER.
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