From left, Emmyon’s CEO and President Dr. Christopher Adams, CJ Cheiljedang’s CEO Choi Eun-seok, at a signing ceremony for muscle technology license agreement [CJ Cheiljedang]
The agreement aims to produce a dietary supplement with natural extracts for use in significant improvement of skeletal muscle mass and function in humans
CJ Food and Nutrition Tech (CJ FNT), a newly formed business unit of CJ CheilJedang, a South Korea-based global food and nutrition company, and Emmyon, Inc., a privately-held biotechnology start-up company based in Rochester, MN, USA, have signed an exclusive licensing agreement establishing a strategic partnership between the two organizations.
A signing ceremony and keynote speeches were held on December 6th, 2022, at CJ CheilJedang’s global headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, attended by the CEOs and senior executives of both CJ CheilJedang and Emmyon to commemorate the occasion.
The technical and commercial collaboration will result in the global launch of several nutraceutical and dietary supplement products that can inhibit muscle atrophy while improving strength and endurance. Skeletal muscle atrophy, also known as muscle wasting or sarcopenia in the elderly, is a widespread and serious condition affecting tens of millions of people worldwide and therefore represents an enormous unmet medical need. It particularly affects older people with arthritis, on bed rest due to body injuries such as accidental falls, and malnutrition through illnesses such as cancer. Optimal muscle health is also important in sports performance and lack of physical exercise, where nutritional supplementation can be beneficial.
The licenses dealt with Emmyon are protected by an extensive portfolio of exclusive patents in the USA, Europe, and other key jurisdictions, which will be leveraged through CJ FNT’s global commercial know-how and marketing strength.
Emmyon Founder, CEO and President, Dr. Christopher Adams, a leading physician-scientist, expressed his great enthusiasm for this landmark deal which could potentially benefit millions of people in the U.S., and elsewhere. Dr. Adams is Professor of Medicine, Clinician Investigator, and Research Chair of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism, and Nutrition at Mayo Clinic. His research focuses on mechanisms and treatment of muscle atrophy and diabetes. His clinical practice focuses on caring for patients with diabetes and other endocrine disorders.
Other key management team members at Emmyon include Scott Ebert, PhD, a highly accomplished skeletal muscle biologist who is an Assistant Professor at Mayo Clinic, and John J. Talley, PhD, one of the world’s preeminent medicinal chemists. In 2015-2019 and 2021, Dr. Talley was named to The Medicine Maker Power list, recognizing the world’s most influential people in drug discovery and development.
Head of CJ FNT, Lance Choi, underlined his company’s commitment to innovation, growth, and marketing excellence in the field of human nutrition. This has resulted in major investments in research and development, manufacturing capabilities, and an emphasis on forging key partnerships such as that with Emmyon to bring new scientific discoveries in nutritional science to market. This landmark deal marks the beginning of a major push for the company into the field of muscle health and metabolism with the goal of world market leadership in this category.
About CJ Food and Nutrition Tech
CJ Food and Nutrition Technology, a business unit of CJ CheilJedang, is a part of CJ Group, South Korea’s preeminent company in the fields of Food & Food Service, Bio & Pharma, Entertainment & Media, and Retail & Logistics.
CJ Food and Nutrition Technology is a leading supplier of fermentation-based bio-products such as an extensive line of ‘AMINATURE®’ amino acids for human nutrition at its multi-national manufacturing facilities worldwide.
About Emmyon, Inc.
Emmyon is a private biotechnology company with a focus on optimal skeletal muscle health. It investigates how aging, illness, and injury cause muscle atrophy. It then uses that data to discover small molecules that improve muscle strength, mass, and metabolism. These small molecules are intended to create new food products for muscle health, while others are being developed as pharmaceuticals for obesity and type 2 diabetes.
For more information, visit: https://www.cjbio.net/ and www.emmyon.com
