The company’s signature product, called MYO-T12, is powdered supplement made from the egg yolks and has been shown to inhibit myostatin levels in muscle tissue. Myostatin is a naturally occurring molecule in the body that is part of a feedback loop that limits muscle growth.
“It’s a temporary inhibition over a 24- to 48-hour period which helps develop lean muscle,” Lindsey Penrose, vice president of business development at MYOS, told NutraIngredients-USA.
Study on women
MYOS says it plans a clinical trial of the ingredient to be run at a national contract research organization in healthy women between the ages of 18 to 45, evaluating the use of MYO-T12 as dietary supplement for reducing serum myostatin levels. It expects the study will begin early in the third quarter and will be completed around year end.
The health benefits of the active ingredients in MYO-T12 were clinically evaluated in earlier studies. In one published study, MYO-T12 was tested in ten healthy adult male human subjects while only administering a single 10-gram serving size.
In this earlier study, subjects received a single dose of ten grams of MYO-T12. Results showed an average baseline myostatin level of 27.5pg/ml, which was consistent with the author's established publications of average baseline myostatin levels for men ages 20-55. A second myostatin measurement was drawn 12 hours after dosing demonstrated a decline to 12.6pg/ml, a 46% drop in myostatin from baseline across all ten subjects. Finally, at the 24 to 30-hour time point a mean value of 28.1pg/ml was observed, representing normalization of the mean myostatin concentration.
MYOS says Myostatin suppression has been shown to enhance muscle growth, recovery and healing. The new clinical study involving healthy women is designed to show that MYO-T12 is well tolerated in women, effective at suppressing myostatin and may offer benefits which include improvement in muscle recovery and building and retaining healthy, lean muscle mass. Increased lean muscle mass should result in higher metabolism in women and allow for healthy weight management.
"We have been encouraged by the strong, early performance of MYO-T12 currently sold in the male sports nutrition market under the brand MYO-X. It is clear that female athletes and fitness enthusiasts are seeking novel and innovative dietary supplement and nutritional products capable of improving their muscle health and performance. The study we are initiating is the first step in broadening the total addressable market for our lead product,” said MYOS CEO Peter Levy.
Possible sarcopenia application
Another market the company is aiming at is alleviating the affects of sarcopenia, the wasting of muscle tissue that can accompany chronic diseases or as a natural byproduct of aging. Myostatin levels increase with age. MYOS estimates the potential sarcopenia market at $15 billion annually in the US.
“We actually hope to be on forefront on combating sarcopenia. Our goal is to eventually come out with a sarcopenia-specific product,” Penrose said.
MYO-T12 is based on the work of inventor Carlon Coker, MD, from whom MYOS purchased the ingredient. Penrose said Coker was interested in the effects of the proteins in the yolk of hen’s eggs after fertilization, when the yolk undergoes rapid chemical changes. The resulting proteins and peptides are now almost entirely absent from the Western diet, she said, as modern egg production doesn’t involve fertilization.
“We have 80 proteins and 700 peptides in our product,” Penrose said.
MYO-X has been on the market in a test mode for several quarters, Penrose said. It is now available on Bodybuilding.com as well as on the shelves in GNC and Vitamin Shoppe outlets.