Restoring Metabolic Balance to Fight Cancer
More than 20 percent of cancer patients die from cachexia, a severe, wasting condition that drains the body’s strength and significantly undermines the effectiveness of treatment. Israeli biotech startup MetaboCure is developing a breakthrough therapy designed to restore patients’ metabolic balance and marshal the body’s own metabolism as a powerful defense against disease
The extreme weight loss seen in many late-stage cancer patients, known as cachexia, is far more than a cosmetic side effect. Rather, it is a deadly, systemic condition that currently has no effective treatment and is responsible for more than one-fifth of cancer-related deaths worldwide.
Entrepreneurs Ronen Sarusi and Dror Melamed, both veterans of the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, decided to join forces to address this challenge. Their paths converged through the collaboration between their companies, Tarom Innovative and NatureIM, leading in 2024 to the creation of a subsidiary – MetaboCure.
“Approximately 30% of cancer patients suffer from this extreme case, and about 20% die as a direct result,” explains Sarusi. “It’s a shocking statistic that rarely gets the public attention it deserves.” Melamed elaborates: “In the past, doctors assumed cachexia was simply a secondary outcome of the disease due to patients’ reduced food intake. However, research has revealed that it’s something very different, an active metabolic disorder. The body begins breaking down its own tissues to feed the tumor, which behaves like a parasite hijacking the body’s nutrients.”
The scientific breakthrough came from a research team at the Weizmann Institute of Science, led by Prof. Ayelet Erez and PhD student Omer Goldman. For the first time, they identified the molecular mechanism that leads to cachexia. The tumor was found to send specific signals that attract immune cells into the liver, where they then suppress the main protein responsible for proper metabolic regulation, a transcription factor called HNF4a. The result is muscle and fat degradation, an impaired immune system, and an overall weakening of the patient to the point where the body can no longer withstand effective cancer treatments.
Financing the Fuel for the First Step
MetaboCure’s therapy is based on the mRNA technology, familiar to us from COVID-19 vaccines. The formula uses messenger RNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) that travel directly to the liver and restore the production of the vital HNF4a protein. Once the protein is re-expressed, the body’s metabolism begins to recover, strengthening the patient’s physical state and improving their body’s ability to contend with cancer.
According to its founders, MetaboCure received critical early funding from the Israel Innovation Authority’s Startup Fund, which enabled the company to attract additional investors and accelerate its R&D. They explain that this investment provided both financial support and professional validation. Also joining the company’s team was a group of researchers from the Weizmann Institute and the Technion.
Sarusi explains that the funding received from the Authority’s Startup Fund was vital in the initial stages. “Launching a company in a field like ours requires significant resources. Large companies can afford massive upfront investments, but for early-stage startups, the Innovation Authority’s funding is the initial spark, the fuel that makes it possible to begin the journey. The Authority’s support helps deep tech initiatives like ours that are at the forefront of science and technology to progress to the next stage.”
Today, just one year after its founding, MetaboCure is already conducting advanced preclinical trials. The team believes their technology could eventually be applied beyond cancer cachexia, offering potential treatments for a range of other metabolic disorders.
Melamed highlights the company’s close collaboration with leading scientists in their field: Prof. Ayelet Erez, Dean of the newly established Faculty of Medicine at the Weizmann Institute, whose discoveries underpin MetaboCure’s intellectual property; Prof. Igor Ulitsky, a top expert in RNA biology; and Prof. Avi Schroeder of the Technion, one of the world’s leading authorities on targeted mRNA delivery to specific organs. “He is helping us ensure our treatment reaches exactly where it needs to go – the liver cells.”
The scale of the problem is staggering. “Nearly two million people die from cachexia each year,” says Sarusi. “In cancers such as pancreatic, gastric, and lung cancer, cachexia accounts for between 60 and 85 percent of deaths. We’re talking about a global market worth billions of dollars, but one without an effective solution yet.”
Expanding on the development process itself, Melamed notes that the company has devised the initial formulation of its mRNA-lipid particle and is now focusing on more advanced animal testing.
“We’re confident in our approach,” says Melamed, “among other reasons because we’re not introducing anything foreign into the body, but rather, by inserting mRNA encoded to produce the missing protein, we’re causing the body to restore the natural HNF4a protein production that the tumor suppressed. This instils us with optimism about both the treatment’s safety and the ability to proceed with rapid development.”
“The regulatory environment is also highly supportive of treatments such as ours,” adds Sarusi, “and we expect our therapy to qualify for the FDA’s fast-track approval process, which will allow us to deliver it to patients quicker.”
Looking ahead, Sarusi and Melamed anticipate beginning human trials within the next two years. “This field takes time and rigorous development,” they acknowledge, “but if we stay on track, we can achieve transformative results, both medical and commercial.”
Hope – and a Sense of Responsibility
Behind the impressive figures and the vast commercial potential lie deeply human stories that accompany the founders every step of the way.
“Often we receive messages from family members of terminally ill patients asking if their loved ones can receive our therapy as compassionate use treatment,” says Melamed. “These requests remind us why we’re doing this. They enhance our sense of calling and underscore the urgency of developing this treatment.”
At the same time, he stresses the need to adopt significant responsibility and caution. “Our therapy is still in the relatively early stages of development. It will take time before we can offer it to patients,” he notes.
The project illustrates the growing importance of metabolism as a central field in modern medicine. “Metabolic medicine is expected to become one of the next major healthcare arenas,” says Sarusi. “Cancer, obesity, fatty liver disease, cardiovascular conditions, and even neurological disorders are all influenced by metabolic function,” he claims.
As an example, he points to two companies in the metabolic disorders space, Akero and Metsera, both of which were still in the clinical stage when they were acquired in September 2025, for $5.2 billion and $4.9 billion, respectively.
MetaboCure’s breakthrough mRNA-based approach has the potential not only to halt cachexia but also to open new paths for innovative treatments for a wide range of metabolic disorders. Once proven safe and effective against cancer cachexia, the therapy could serve as a foundation for further metabolic diseases and even lead to a dramatic change in the world of medicine.
Sarusi and Melamed look ahead with both hope and a profound sense of purpose. “The suffering of patients is our primary motivation,” they conclude. “Beyond business success, this is a genuine opportunity to improve and save the lives of millions of patients worldwide. A mission that is our true calling.”
