PMGC Holdings signs term sheet for spaceflight muscle-loss study
PMGC Holdings has announced a non-binding term sheet with Australian space logistics company Orbit2Orbit Pty Ltd, under which its biosciences subsidiary NorthStrive Biosciences would conduct a live-animal spaceflight study of two engineered probiotic candidates targeting muscle loss in microgravity.
The proposed arrangement, disclosed on 25 August 2026, covers three linked transactions: a research collaboration using Orbit2Orbit's Mice2Space platform, a preferred US aerospace manufacturing role for PMGC subsidiary A&B Aerospace, and a planned PMGC equity investment of CAD $200,000 in Orbit2Orbit at CAD $0.80 per share ahead of Orbit2Orbit's proposed listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange.
The science
NorthStrive Bio's lead candidates, EL-22 and EL-32, are engineered probiotics designed to inhibit myostatin and activin A, proteins that suppress skeletal muscle growth. Both are currently being developed to help patients retain lean muscle mass during GLP-1 receptor agonist-driven weight loss. The company says evaluating the candidates in a genuine microgravity environment could generate muscle-preservation data relevant to both spaceflight physiology and Earth-side indications such as sarcopenia and cancer cachexia.
Under the proposed collaboration, Orbit2Orbit would lead payload design and engineering in Australia, NorthStrive Bio would design and analyse the scientific study, and A&B Aerospace would manufacture the final flight hardware in the United States. NorthStrive Bio would retain ownership of its study protocols, preclinical data, and results, while Orbit2Orbit would retain the Mice2Space platform and payload architecture.
The announcement is careful to note that the term sheet is non-binding and that no definitive agreements have been signed. Timelines, project costs, and milestones remain subject to further negotiation, and there is no assurance the contemplated transactions will close on the terms described or at all.
Market context
The use of spaceflight as a preclinical research environment has attracted growing interest from pharmaceutical and biotech developers, with microgravity offering an accelerated model for conditions such as muscle atrophy, bone loss, and immune dysfunction that take years to manifest in ground-based studies. The International Space Station US National Laboratory has historically served as the primary conduit for such research, but a number of commercial platforms are now positioning themselves as lower-cost, more accessible alternatives as low Earth orbit infrastructure expands.
Myostatin inhibition as a therapeutic strategy has a long development history in muscle disease, with several biologic-based approaches having progressed through clinical trials in conditions including muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy, though regulatory approvals in this target class remain limited. NorthStrive Bio's probiotic approach to myostatin modulation is differentiated from antibody or gene-based strategies, but the company has not yet disclosed clinical-stage data for either EL-22 or EL-32, and the proposed Mice2Space collaboration would represent preclinical work.
PMGC Holdings, listed on Nasdaq under the ticker ELAB, presents itself as a diversified holding company with interests spanning biopharmaceuticals and aerospace manufacturing. The Orbit2Orbit deal is framed as an opportunity to link those two business lines within a single commercial spaceflight partnership, though the CAD $200,000 investment is modest in scale and Orbit2Orbit is itself pre-listing. Investors will be watching for the execution of definitive agreements and, further out, for any preclinical data packages that could support a regulatory or partnering narrative for EL-22 and EL-32 in terrestrial indications.