Products
Bimagrumab is in clinical development at Novartis and is not currently commercially available. The antibody was developed at MorphoSys in Munich.
Structure and properties
Bimagrumab is a human monoclonal antibody.
Effects
Bimagrumab promotes skeletal muscle development. The antibody binds with high affinity to type II activin receptors and prevents the binding of the natural inhibitory ligands myostatin and activin, which negatively affect muscle development, i.e., its differentiation and hypertrophy.
Indications
For the treatment of muscle diseases with muscle atrophy and weakness, for example:
- Sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) – FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation.
- COPD
- Tumor cachexia
- Sarcopenia
- Artificially ventilated patients
Abuse
Due to the muscle-building properties of the compound, there are concerns that bimagrumab could be misused as a doping agent and for bodybuilding.