The Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) is funding the collaborative project "Expansion of Clinical Applications for the Human Muscle Stem Cell Product PHSat", initiated by the start-up company MyoPax in cooperation with the Departments of Surgery and Neurosurgery at the Charité.
 
Muscle diseases affect more than 20 million patients in Europe with limited therapeutic options. MyoPax, a spin-off of Charité and MDC, has developed a patented method to isolate and expand patient-specific muscle stem cell populations, known as PHSats (Primary Human Satellite-cell derived muscle stem cells), while preserving their regenerative potential.
 
The ProFit project aims to preclinically evaluate additional clinical applications for PHSats. The validation of new indications will lay the foundation for future clinical studies and the expansion of the market potential of PHSats. In a subproject led by Experimental Surgery and PI Priv.-Doz. Dr. Karl Hillebrandt, the preclinical application of decellularized diaphragms combined with PHSats to regenerate the impaired diaphragms of mice with muscular dystrophy will be explored. Two routes of administration will be investigated: direct injection into damaged diaphragms and transplantation onto degenerated diaphragms. The ultimate goal is to preserve or improve respiratory function by augmenting the diaphragm. This approach holds promise for several conditions, such as ventilator-induced diaphragm dysfunction or diaphragm atrophy due to COPD, where impaired diaphragm function affects respiratory capacity.