Mursla Bio Strikes Major Pharma Partnership to Advance Precision Medicine in MASH
Mursla Bio has announced a new collaboration with a leading global pharmaceutical company to accelerate biomarker-guided drug development in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a serious and progressive form of fatty liver disease.
The partnership will combine Mursla Bio’s AI Precision Medicine Platform with the pharma partner’s investigational therapy programme, with the shared goal of bringing more targeted treatment options to patients with MASH.
At the heart of the collaboration is Mursla Bio’s ability to generate hepatocyte-specific extracellular vesicle (h-EV) profiles from simple blood samples. By analysing h-EVs taken from patients with MASH and matched healthy controls, the partners aim to gain unprecedented insight into liver tissue biology without the need for invasive biopsies.
In the initial phase of the partnership, Mursla Bio will build high-dimensional mRNA and protein datasets from these h-EVs. This work is designed to uncover the molecular pathways driving MASH, define mode-of-action pathways for the investigational therapy, and identify patient stratification signatures.
These new datasets will also strengthen and refine Mursla Bio’s existing AI liver disease models, developed through its MEV01 clinical study.
A key objective of the collaboration is to evaluate biomarker panels that can identify patients most likely to benefit from the pharmaceutical company’s investigational therapy. By integrating biomarker discovery directly into drug development, the partners hope to improve both trial design and, ultimately, treatment outcomes in real-world clinical practice.
The same technology infrastructure that supported Mursla Bio’s lead product, EvoLiver, will underpin this new programme. EvoLiver, which has achieved FDA Breakthrough Device Designation, is built on the company’s ability to profile intact hepatocyte biology via h-EVs.
Leveraging this proven platform, Mursla Bio aims to accelerate the translation of exploratory biomarkers into regulatory-grade companion diagnostics that can be used alongside future MASH therapies.
The company’s Founder and CEO said the collaboration reflects the growing demand from global pharmaceutical leaders for Mursla Bio’s AI Precision Medicine Platform. As the GLP-1 revolution continues to reshape obesity management, MASH is rapidly emerging as the next major therapeutic focus.
Against this backdrop, the need for precise, liver-specific biomarkers has never been greater. By profiling intact hepatocyte biology protected within the cargo of h-EVs, Mursla Bio believes it is enabling a new generation of biomarker-guided precision medicine in liver care. This partnership, the CEO added, deepens the company’s reach in hepatology and builds on the foundation established with EvoLiver.
MASH, which is closely linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes, affects an estimated 5–7% of adults globally. Left untreated, it can progress to cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer, placing a significant burden on patients, healthcare systems and economies.
More accurate tools to diagnose, monitor and stratify patients are seen as critical to the success of emerging therapies.
In summary
The collaboration between Mursla Bio and its pharmaceutical partner brings together cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence, h-EV profiling and drug development expertise to tackle one of the most pressing challenges in liver disease.
By turning blood-based signals into detailed maps of hepatocyte biology, the partners are aiming not only to support the success of a single investigational therapy, but to help reshape how MASH is diagnosed, studied and treated in the years ahead.
News Credits: Mursla Bio partners with global pharma to advance precision medicine in liver disease
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