Executive Summary / Description
Muscle loss - spanning sarcopenia, cachexia, disuse atrophy, and GLP-1-associated muscle decline - is emerging as a priority therapeutic frontier driven by global demographic and metabolic shifts.
By 2035, over 1.5 billion people will be aged >60, and >250 million patients treated with GLP-1 agonists will be at risk of drug-induced sarcopenia, accelerating clinical urgency.
Historically managed through exercise, protein nutrition, and physical therapy, the field is now entering a biological medicine era characterized by:
- Myostatin/activin-A pathway blockade
- Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs)
- Mitochondrial biogenesis activators
- Anabolic peptides & myokine-based therapies
- Neuromuscular trophic modulation
- Adipomyokine axis reprogramming
- AI-driven digital muscle biomarkers & precision movement diagnostics
Drivers transforming this market: Macro Trend and its Implications
- Aging population: Exponential rise in sarcopenia burden
- GLP-1 expansion: Muscle depletion & metabolic fragility flags
- Cancer care & cachexia: Oncology supportive-care expansion
- Longevity medicine: Muscle seen as core biological organ system
- Sports performance -> medical translation: Advanced protein synthesis biology
Muscle is increasingly recognized not as a mechanical tissue but as a metabolic, endocrine, mitochondrial, and immunologic organ, producing myokines (Irisin, IL-15, Myostatin, FGF-21, GDF11) with systemic signaling effects.
Muscle mass = metabolic reserve + cognitive aging predictor + survival biomarker.
Market Outlook
Market expected to rise from ~USD 3.8B in 2024 -> USD 28-35B by 2040
Key launch inflection categories: Different Classes with Time Horizon
- SARMs 2.0 -> 2025-2027
- Myostatin/ActRIIB biologics -> 2026-2030
- Mitochondrial boosters -> 2027-2033
- Neuro-muscular circuit drugs -> 2029+
- Longevity precision exercise biologics -> 2030+
Scientific & Technology Landscape
Primary Mechanistic Axes: Biological Domain and it's Mechanism
- Muscle-growth pathway -> Myostatin inhibition, Smad signaling
- Androgen receptor -> SARMs, tissue-selective anabolics
- Mitochondria -> AMPK/PGC1a activation, mito-peptides (MOTS-C)
- Neuro-muscular -> Motor neuron trophic signaling, NMJ stabilization
- Myokine / Adipokine -> Irisin, IL-15, FGF-21, adiponectin
- Inflammation -> Cytokine blockers (IL-6, TNF-a)
- Stem Cells -> Satellite cell activation, senescence reversal
- Metabolic synergy -> Osteo-muscular endocrine cross-talk
Digital & Biometric Innovations
- Musculoskeletal digital twins
- AI gait analysis & EMG telemetry
- Ultrasound-AI muscle quality scoring
- Wearable mechano-transduction biomarkers
- CT radiomics / MRI muscle fat infiltration quantification
Modalities Profile with Example
- Monoclonal biologics -> Anti-myostatin, anti-activin (bimagrumab)
- Small molecules -> SARMs, mitophagy modulators
- Mito-peptides -> MOTS-C, Humanin
- Gene therapy -> Myostatin gene silencing
- Regenerative -> Satellite cell modulation
- Extremes emerging -> In-vivo muscle-fiber reprogramming
Table of Content
1. Introduction
- 1.1 Purpose, scope & methodology
- 1.2 Pathophysiology of muscle loss
- 1.3 Regulatory definitions of sarcopenia & cachexia
2. Biology & Mechanisms
- 2.1 Muscle as endocrine organ
- 2.2 Myokine & adipokine axes
- 2.3 Mitochondrial & metabolic drivers
- 2.4 Muscle-nerve crosstalk & NMJ biology
- 2.5 GLP-1 impact on muscle proteostasis
3. Drug Class Technology Landscape
- 3.1 SARMs - evolution & safety
- 3.2 Anti-myostatin & activin blockade
- 3.3 Anabolic growth factors
- 3.4 Mitochondrial enhancers
- 3.5 Neuromuscular junction stabilizers
- 3.6 Regenerative agents & senolytics
- 3.7 AI precision exercise + pharma hybrid
4. Pipeline Overview
- 4.1 Pipeline by mechanism
- 4.2 Development stage segmentation
- 4.3 Program geography
5. Digital-Therapeutic & Biomarker Landscape
- 5.1 Body composition imaging AI
- 5.2 Wearable EMG & gait sensing platforms
6. Clinical Landscape
- 6.1 Trial overview (Phase I-III)
- 6.2 Endpoints & regulatory surrogate debates
- 6.3 Safety & toxicity learnings
7. Market & Commercial Outlook
- 7.1 Market sizing 2025-2040
- 7.2 Pricing & reimbursement landscape
- 7.3 Pharma strategy - early supportive care adoption
- 7.4 GLP-1 syndicate co-markets
8. Deal & Partnership Landscape
- 8.1 Pharma licensing & co-dev deals
- 8.2 AI-muscle tech deals
- 8.3 M&A activity outlook
9. SWOT + Future Outlook
- 9.1 Scientific risks
- 9.2 Regulatory view
- 9.3 Commercial constraints
- 9.4 Breakthrough catalysts
10. Appendix