This Heavily Sold Nano-Cap Skincare Stock Jumped 12% Pre-Market – What Happened?

PMGC's unit, NorthStrive Biosciences, filed 10 new U.S. patent applications for EL-22 and EL-32 technologies in the animal health and agriculture markets.
A candlestick chart can be seen in a trading platform on a smartphone. Top U.S. firms announced record buybacks this year. (Photo by Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images)
A candlestick chart can be seen in a trading platform on a smartphone. Top U.S. firms announced record buybacks this year. (Photo by Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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Arnab Paul·Stocktwits
Updated Feb 19, 2026   |   9:24 AM EST
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  • The filings include five applications for EL-22 and five corresponding applications for EL-32.
  • Two applications for the promotion of muscle growth and increase muscle yield per animal, the company said.
  • Additional filings target reductions in gaseous emissions and improved animal health.

Shares of PMGC Holdings Inc. (ELAB) shot up 12% in pre-market trading on Thursday after the company announced that its unit, NorthStrive Biosciences, filed 10 new U.S. patent applications aimed at expanding its proprietary EL-22 and EL-32 technologies into animal health and agriculture markets.

Patent Expansion Boost For Company

The filings include five applications for EL-22 and five corresponding applications for EL-32, spanning livestock, aquaculture, and poultry sectors. Two applications cover the use of the technologies as non-feed additive supplements to promote muscle growth and increase muscle yield per animal.

Additional filings target reductions in gaseous emissions and improved animal health, including mitigation of ruminal tympany, a serious digestive disorder.

In aquaculture, the patents address muscle growth, improved production efficiency, and reduced emissions to combat eutrophication, which can lead to low oxygen levels in water bodies. The final set of applications focuses on enhancing muscle development and yield in poultry within standard growth cycles.

Exclusive Licensing Deal With Modulant

This comes just over a week after NorthStrive Biosciences signed an exclusive license with Modulant Biosciences to give the company a worldwide, royalty-bearing license, excluding South Korea, to develop and commercialize products using EL-22 and EL-32 assets. Modulant will handle all development, manufacturing, regulatory, and commercialization activities under the deal.

EL-22 helps activate the body’s immune system to block myostatin, a protein that limits muscle growth. When combined with existing GLP-1 weight-loss treatments, this approach could help obese patients lose fat while maintaining healthy muscle mass, the company said.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

Retail sentiment for ELAB on Stocktwits flipped to ‘bullish’ from ‘bearish’ a day earlier.

ELAB.jpg

One user hoped to see “higher prices soon.”

Another user expects the stock to hit $3 if it breaks past the $1.56 resistance.

The stock has been under heavy selling pressure, slumping nearly 77% so far this year.

Read also: CVNA Stock Slumps 10% Pre-Market: Wall Street Questions 2026 Visibility, Retail Flags ‘Deterioration’

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