Caregen (CEO Yongji Jeong), a peptide-specialized biopharmaceutical company, announced on the 1st that its self-developed muscle-building functional peptide, "MyoKi," has been officially registered as a health functional food by Indian health authorities. This marks the company's second registration, following the weight-loss peptide "Korglutide" in late July.
Caregen plans to capitalize on Myoki's registration by accelerating the expansion of its healthcare platform for obesity, diabetes, and sarcopenia. This strategic consideration stems from the rapidly growing demand for functional products in the Indian market, where sarcopenia is emerging as a health concern due to an aging population and increasing chronic diseases.
India has the world's largest population, with a prevalence of diabetes and obesity reaching approximately 11%. The number of sarcopenia patients is also increasing, but the market is centered on functional products like sports nutrition rather than medical solutions. The Indian sports nutrition supplement market is valued at approximately $3.75 billion and is projected to reach $8.9 billion by 2035.
Myoki is a peptide ingredient that blocks the activity of myostatin, which inhibits muscle growth, contributing to the increase and maintenance of muscle mass. Caregen conducted a 12-week clinical trial with 80 sarcopenia patients in India, and achieved results such as an average increase of 2.52% in arm and leg muscle mass and a 2.56% increase in lean body mass. Furthermore, physiological and biochemical effects were confirmed, including improvements in grip strength, walking speed, and reductions in catabolic biomarkers.
Myoki is also attracting attention for its potential use in combination with weight loss treatments. GLP-1-based treatments like Ozempic and Wegovy, despite their weight-loss effects, have been associated with the side effect of muscle mass loss. Myoki is being evaluated as a solution that can complement this.
Caregen is currently in technology transfer discussions with local pharmaceutical companies to package Myoki as an integrated solution along with Coglutide, which was previously registered as a health functional food, and plans to strengthen its B2B strategy centered on responding to metabolic diseases in India.
Caregen is pursuing strategic partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies in India and plans to develop market-tailored strategies that take into account distribution structures, consumer approaches, and regional characteristics.
Meanwhile, Caregen announced that the registration process for its blood sugar control functional peptide 'ProGsterol' with the Indian health authorities is in the final stages.
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