EM-001
It is estimated that there are more than one million patients worldwide who suffer from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and IPF is one of the most difficult respiratory diseases to treat. For this reason, many drug candidates are currently in clinical trials. However, many of the existing therapeutic agents and candidates target the fibrosis process, and there have been few attempts to cure IPF from the cellular changes that precede fibrosis, including cell senescence, which is upstream of the disease mechanism. We have discovered that exosomes secreted by bronchial epithelial cells have excellent therapeutic effects on IPF. (Article）
This exosome drug (EM-001) has the effects of inhibiting lung cell aging, inflammation, and fibrosis, and is expected to suppress the progression of IPF from the upstream of the disease mechanism.
Article https://isevjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jev2.12124
Article https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-024-06197-3
EM-002
COPD affects 200 million people worldwide. Air pollution, smoking, and other factors destroy normal lung cells in the alveoli over the years, leading to a decline in respiratory function. There is currently no fundamental cure, and the only treatment is palliative care to suppress excessive inflammation and pain.
Dr. Fujita and his colleagues discovered that exosomes secreted by pulmonary fibroblasts whose phenotypes have been altered by metabolic regulating drugs promote the increase and differentiation of precursor cells of alveolar epithelial cells, thereby regenerating normal lung cells and restoring lung function.
Article https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.06.17.587086v1