Immunis Wins National Academy of Medicine Grand Prize for IMM01-STEM Healthy Longevity Innovation
Immunis, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class multi-active biologics for muscle health and healthy aging, has been awarded the Grand Prize in the National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) Healthy Longevity Global Competition. The recognition highlights the company’s investigational IMM01-STEM therapy, which is being developed to address age-related declines in muscle function, metabolism and quality of life.
The Healthy Longevity Global Competition is an international initiative designed to accelerate innovations that extend human healthspan and improve physical, cognitive and social well-being throughout life. Immunis received the award for its project, “IMM01-STEM: A First-in-Class Regenerative Biologic Restoring Muscle Function, Metabolism, and Quality of Life in Aging Adults.”
The award recognizes the potential of IMM01-STEM as a multi-active biologic intended to address several interconnected biological processes associated with aging. Unlike therapeutic approaches that focus on a single pathway, IMM01-STEM contains multiple naturally occurring factors designed to act across signaling pathways involved in immune regulation, tissue repair and muscle regeneration.
Immunis has advanced IMM01-STEM into a randomized Phase 2 clinical trial, evaluating its potential to improve muscle-related outcomes and metabolic health in aging adults. According to the company, evidence collected to date has demonstrated improvements in measures of muscle function, metabolism and quality of life. Blood protein analyses have also identified coordinated changes in pathways associated with immune cell signaling, tissue repair and muscle regeneration.
The company further reported that no severe adverse events attributed to IMM01-STEM have been observed to date. As the therapy remains investigational, continued clinical evaluation will be necessary to establish its safety profile, efficacy and potential role in treating age-related functional decline.
The Grand Prize provides recognition for Immunis’ research program as the company continues to investigate approaches aimed at preserving muscle health, physical function and metabolic well-being throughout aging.
National Academy of Medicine Recognizes Innovation in Healthy Longevity
The National Academy of Medicine’s Healthy Longevity Global Competition was established to encourage scientific and technological advances that could help people maintain health and independence as they grow older. The initiative brings together innovators working on solutions to challenges associated with aging, with an emphasis on extending the period of life spent in good health.
Between 2020 and 2025, NAM and its global partners awarded 720 Catalyst Awards totaling more than $36 million to innovators across more than 50 countries and territories. These awards supported a broad range of ideas intended to improve healthy longevity and address the biological, social and environmental factors that influence aging.
The 2026 Grand Prize competition was open exclusively to previous Catalyst Award recipients. It recognized organizations whose innovations were considered among the most promising in the healthy longevity field.
Immunis’ selection places its IMM01-STEM development program among the initiatives recognized through this global effort. The company’s approach focuses on the relationship between immune signaling, muscle maintenance, tissue repair and metabolic regulation, with the goal of addressing multiple aspects of age-related decline through a single therapeutic platform.
The recognition comes as researchers increasingly examine not only lifespan, but also healthspan—the period during which people can maintain physical function, independence and quality of life. Age-related changes in muscle mass and strength can affect mobility and the ability to perform everyday activities. Metabolic changes may further influence physical resilience and overall health.
By targeting biological pathways linked to muscle and metabolic function, Immunis aims to develop a treatment that could help older adults preserve the capabilities needed to remain active and independent.
IMM01-STEM Targets Multiple Biological Pathways
IMM01-STEM is an investigational multi-active biologic designed to address interconnected mechanisms underlying age-related muscle and metabolic decline.
Traditional drug development frequently focuses on a specific molecular target or biological pathway. Although this strategy can be effective for certain diseases, the complex nature of aging may involve several processes operating simultaneously. Muscle deterioration, altered immune signaling, impaired tissue repair and metabolic changes can interact, making it difficult to address the full scope of age-related decline through a single mechanism.
Immunis is pursuing a different approach by developing IMM01-STEM to deliver multiple naturally occurring factors that act across signaling pathways associated with immune regulation, tissue repair and muscle regeneration.
The company’s scientific rationale is that coordinated activity across these pathways may help address several biological processes contributing to age-related functional changes. By focusing on the relationship between immune function and tissue health, the therapy is intended to support muscle performance and metabolic function in aging adults.
However, the potential advantages of a multi-active biologic must be established through clinical research. The fact that a therapy influences multiple pathways does not, by itself, demonstrate that it will provide superior outcomes compared with treatments targeting individual mechanisms. Randomized clinical studies are therefore important for determining whether the proposed biological effects translate into meaningful improvements for patients.
Immunis is continuing to investigate IMM01-STEM through its clinical development program, with a focus on understanding its effects on muscle function, metabolism and quality of life.
Company Leadership Highlights the Importance of Functional Health
Dr. Tom Lane, Chief Science Officer of Immunis, said the company was honored to receive recognition from the National Academy of Medicine.
“We are deeply honored to receive this recognition from the National Academy of Medicine,” Lane said.
He emphasized that healthy longevity involves more than extending the number of years a person lives. Preserving strength and physical function can be essential to maintaining independence and supporting quality of life during aging.
“Healthy longevity is about preserving the strength and function that improve a patient’s quality of life,” Lane said.
He added that the award would provide the team with support to continue its research and advance the program toward potential future clinical applications.
“This Grand Prize provides our team with means to continue our clinical research and, eventually, the opportunity to help millions of people,” Lane said.
The comments reflect the company’s focus on developing therapies intended to address functional decline rather than treating only an isolated symptom or biological change associated with aging.
For older adults, muscle health can influence mobility, balance, exercise capacity and the ability to carry out routine activities. Maintaining these capabilities may help people remain independent for longer. Research into therapies that preserve or restore muscle function could therefore have implications for healthy aging, provided clinical studies establish meaningful benefits and an acceptable safety profile.
IMM01-STEM Advances in Randomized Phase 2 Clinical Development
Immunis has advanced IMM01-STEM into a randomized Phase 2 clinical trial. The study represents an important stage in evaluating whether the investigational therapy can deliver measurable benefits in people.
The company reported that evidence generated to date has demonstrated improvements in measures of muscle function, metabolism and quality of life in aging adults. These findings provide a basis for further investigation, although the supplied announcement does not specify the magnitude of the changes, the number of participants involved, the precise endpoints or the statistical significance of the reported improvements.
Those details are important when assessing clinical evidence. Improvements in selected measurements do not necessarily establish a treatment’s overall efficacy, and results from early or intermediate stages of development require confirmation in appropriately designed studies.
A randomized Phase 2 trial can help researchers evaluate the potential effects of an investigational therapy and further characterize its safety. Depending on the study design, investigators can compare outcomes between treatment groups and assess whether changes observed during earlier research are reproduced under controlled conditions.
Immunis also reported that blood protein analyses identified coordinated changes across pathways related to immune cell signaling, tissue repair and muscle regeneration. Such analyses can provide insight into the biological processes potentially affected by a therapy and may help researchers understand how treatment-related changes relate to clinical outcomes.
Nevertheless, changes in biological markers are not necessarily equivalent to improvements in everyday function. Their clinical significance must be evaluated alongside measures such as muscle performance, metabolic health and patient-reported quality of life.
The company stated that no severe adverse events attributed to IMM01-STEM have been reported to date. This is an encouraging safety observation, but it does not establish that the therapy is free of significant risks. Safety conclusions will depend on the total amount of clinical exposure, the duration of follow-up and findings from ongoing and future studies.
Preclinical Research Provides Additional Support
In addition to clinical development, Immunis cited published preclinical research supporting the potential of IMM01-STEM.
According to the company, preclinical findings demonstrated improvements across several measures, including lean mass, fat mass, muscle fiber quality, physical activity, glucose handling and liver health.
These measures cover different aspects of physiological function. Lean mass and muscle fiber quality are relevant to muscle structure, while physical activity can provide information about functional performance in the experimental setting. Glucose handling and liver health relate to metabolic processes that may change with age.
The reported findings support the rationale for investigating a therapy that targets multiple interconnected biological systems rather than focusing exclusively on muscle mass or a single metabolic parameter.
Preclinical research, however, does not establish that the same effects will occur in humans. Experimental findings must be interpreted according to the models used, the study conditions and the biological differences between laboratory systems and human aging.
Clinical studies are required to determine whether the observed changes translate into measurable benefits for people and whether those benefits outweigh potential risks. The randomized Phase 2 program is therefore an important component of Immunis’ effort to establish the therapeutic potential of IMM01-STEM.
Potential Role Alongside GLP-1 Therapies
Immunis’ development pipeline will investigate IMM01-STEM both as a stand-alone muscle therapy and as an adjunct treatment used in combination with GLP-1 therapies.
GLP-1-based medicines are used in several metabolic disease settings, including type 2 diabetes and obesity, depending on the specific product and its approved indication. These treatments can produce substantial changes in body weight and metabolic health. During weight loss, however, changes in body composition may include reductions in lean mass as well as fat mass.
This has created interest in approaches that could help preserve muscle while supporting improvements in body composition. Maintaining muscle function may be particularly important for older adults, for whom age-related muscle decline can already affect mobility, strength and physical resilience.
Immunis plans to investigate whether IMM01-STEM could complement GLP-1 therapies by helping preserve or restore lean mass while enhancing fat loss. The company also intends to study the biologic as a stand-alone approach to muscle health.
The proposed combination strategy remains an area for clinical investigation. The supplied announcement does not provide clinical results establishing that IMM01-STEM preserves lean mass during GLP-1 treatment or improves the effectiveness of those medicines. Any potential benefits, appropriate patient populations and safety considerations will need to be assessed through dedicated studies.
If supported by future clinical evidence, a treatment approach that addresses muscle function alongside metabolic outcomes could become relevant to efforts to improve body composition and functional health during aging. For now, the strategy represents a development objective rather than an established treatment benefit.
Addressing the Growing Challenge of Age-Related Decline
The recognition from NAM comes as age-related losses in muscle and metabolic function receive increasing attention in research on healthy longevity.
Aging is associated with changes across multiple biological systems, and these changes can influence how well individuals maintain strength, mobility and independence. Muscle health is particularly important because it contributes to physical performance and the ability to complete daily tasks. Metabolic function also plays a role in the body’s ability to process and use energy.
Addressing these interconnected processes could require strategies that extend beyond conventional single-target approaches. Immunis is developing IMM01-STEM with the goal of preserving the physical capabilities that allow people to remain active as they age.
The company’s research program reflects a broader effort to shift the focus of aging-related care toward maintaining function and quality of life. Nevertheless, the development of therapies for age-related decline presents scientific challenges, including the need to distinguish meaningful clinical benefits from changes in biomarkers or individual measurements.
For IMM01-STEM, further research will be needed to establish the consistency and durability of any treatment effects, identify patients most likely to benefit and determine how the therapy might fit into existing approaches to muscle and metabolic health.
Immunis thanked the National Academy of Medicine for the distinction and celebrated the award alongside other recipients at the culmination of the Healthy Longevity Global Competition’s seven-year search for promising innovations in the field.
The Grand Prize recognizes the potential of IMM01-STEM and the company’s multi-active biologic strategy. It also provides visibility for a clinical-stage program seeking to address muscle and metabolic decline through coordinated biological pathways.
With IMM01-STEM now in randomized Phase 2 clinical development, the company’s next priority is to continue evaluating the therapy’s safety and potential effectiveness. The planned investigation of the biologic both as a stand-alone treatment and in combination with GLP-1 therapies could help clarify its possible applications in muscle health and healthy aging.
Although the award does not constitute regulatory approval or confirmation of clinical efficacy, it underscores the importance of continued research into interventions that may help preserve physical function later in life.
As the clinical program advances, additional data will be needed to determine whether IMM01-STEM can deliver meaningful and sustained improvements in muscle function, metabolism and quality of life. For Immunis, the recognition from the National Academy of Medicine marks a significant milestone in its effort to develop new therapeutic options aimed at helping people maintain strength, mobility and independence throughout aging.
Immunis is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class multi-active biologics designed to restore function lost through aging and disease. Leveraging the body’s innate repair biology, Immunis’ proprietary secretome platform targets multiple pathways simultaneously to improve muscle health, metabolic function, and overall healthspan. The company’s lead investigational therapy, IMM01-STEM, is being evaluated as a potential treatment for sarcopenia and other age-related conditions, with the vision of helping people live healthier, stronger, and more independent lives for longer.