Up-and-coming company is developing a home urine test to monitor muscle loss in diseases like ALS, muscular dystrophy, prevent falls and improve quality of life by keeping muscles healthy

After losing a close relative to the consequences of muscle loss, Dr. Rafaela Andrade is on a mission to keep people healthy and safe by giving them a simple at-home test to monitor their muscle health, just by peeing on a stick.

Her ground-breaking work to develop the world’s first urine strip test for measuring muscle loss has earned Andrade a prestigious award and $5,000 from Mitacs, Canada’s leading innovation organization that boosts economic growth and innovation by helping companies solve business challenges with research solutions from academic institutions.

In recognition of her efforts to advance the test through her company, Myomar Molecular Inc., Andrade – who serves as Myomar Molecular Co-founder and CEO, and is a post-doctoral researcher at Dalhousie University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering working under Associate Professor John Frampton – will be presented the Mitacs Outstanding Entrepreneur Award on May 18 at a ceremony in Waterloo, Ontario.

“Right now, there’s no way to know how much you’re suffering from muscle loss until you develop a disease, or experience a fall or some other health event,” said Andrade, who is dedicating her ongoing work to the memory of her elderly aunt, who died from complications due to a fall, yet had no indication her muscles were getting weaker beforehand.

“The idea is that if we can monitor early on for accurate indicators of muscle loss, we can take precautions to change our behaviours to protect our muscle health,” she said, noting that muscle health has many implications, including promoting brain health. “Just as we regularly use a cholesterol test to monitor heart health or a glucose test to monitor for diabetes, we need to start being proactive about safeguarding our muscles. The more tools we have to keep our muscles healthy, the better chance we have at living a high-quality life as we age.” 

Normally, muscle loss is only monitored after neuromuscular diseases such as ALS or muscular dystrophy are diagnosed or signs of muscle loss appear, using expensive medical imaging systems like an MRI or CT scan. Myomar Molecular’s test is designed for the general population and works like a simple home pregnancy test, allowing users to get their test results by snapping a picture of the completed test strip on their phone.

The ground-breaking technology works by identifying unique and specific molecular changes in urine that are associated with muscle degeneration. The resulting panel of specific muscle health biomarkers is then fed into a mathematical model to predict muscle loss, with 80 per cent accuracy in males and 96 per cent accuracy in females to date.

The short-term goal is to commercialize the test kit as a consumer product by fall 2024. Longer term goals include the development of an AI assistant that can provide individualized recommendations to improve muscle health, and a more robust test that can be used as a medical monitoring tool for neuromuscular diseases. Right now, the startup is seeking beta users to participate in product development by signing up at myomarmolecular.ca as it completes its first round of pre-seed funding.

Andrade is one of five winners of the Mitacs Entrepreneur Award who are being recognized for their efforts to turn their research into an innovative business that impacts the lives of Canadians.

“Mitacs funding allowed me to work full time on growing our company with tremendous results,” Andrade said. “We wouldn’t have been able to get to this stage without the support of Mitacs.” 

“A successful innovation economy cannot exist without entrepreneurs. Startups drive innovation in Canada, they dream big and push boundaries, bringing research from ideation to commercialization,” said Mitacs CEO John Hepburn. “Mitacs is extremely proud to play a role in supporting small businesses and emerging entrepreneurs through our continued investment in talent, research, and development. It is a pleasure to celebrate the incredible accomplishments and impact of our 2023 Mitacs Entrepreneur Award winners.”

About Mitacs

Mitacs empowers Canadian innovation through effective partnerships that deliver solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. Mitacs assists organizations in reaching their goals, funds cutting-edge innovation, and creates job opportunities for students and postdocs. A not-for-profit organization, Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada, the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, Innovation PEI, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Government of Yukon. Learn more at mitacs.ca. nH