GI Biome said on Monday that it won a substance and application patent for its anti-aging and senile sarcopenia improvement strain composition from the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO).

Sarcopenia refers to the decrease in the amount of muscle, muscle strength, and muscle function with age. Recent studies have shown that decreasing muscle mass due to aging is associated with an increased risk of dementia, stroke, and cardiovascular disease.

Currently, no drugs have been approved as a treatment for sarcopenia, but the related healthcare market is expected to grow to more than 6 trillion won (approximately $4.5 billion) by 2030.

"Although there is no sarcopenia cure as yet, nutritional approaches such as protein supplementation are mainly used," said GI Biome’s patent team leader, Chae Yoo-jin. “The patent recognizes new possibilities to improve muscle strength degradation with a functional composition that mixes microbiome and natural products."

To check the muscle-boosting effect of the patented composition, the GI Biome’s research team used a 16-month-old aging mouse from Janvier Labs in France. Mice have a lifespan of approximately 24 months.

The results showed that the muscle strength decreased by 5 to 15 percent in the placebo group, natural product group, and microbiome group alone, while muscle strength increased by more than 20 percent in the microbiome and natural product composition group. Consequently, they showed that muscle strength improved by more than 40 percent compared to the placebo group.

The recently acquired patent was granted based on the strength improvement effect of microorganisms strains and natural products developed by GI Biome for the prevention or treatment of muscle diseases through its “μ + Herbal therapy” platform.