Columbia Technology Ventures

Expression of ILDR2 for treatment of metabolic disease

This technology describes ILDR2 as a target that can be used to develop first-in-class therapeutics for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and other metabolic diseases.

Unmet Need: Effective targets for treatment of fatty liver disease

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is an advanced form of fatty liver disease which is common in individuals with metabolic syndrome such as obesity or diabetes. NASH can progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. There is currently no approved treatment for NASH and patients rely on dietary and lifestyle changes for managing the disease, but these approaches are hard to sustain and ineffective for many patients. There remains an urgent need to identify appropriate molecular targets and develop efficacious therapeutics for treating NASH.

The Technology: ILDR2 as a therapeutic target for NASH and other metabolic disorders

This technology describes ILDR2 as a potential therapeutic target to treat metabolic disease. ILDR2 regulates lipid metabolism in the liver and maintains lipoprotein homeostasis. Vector-mediated overexpression of ILDR2 in a preclinical animal model of obesity rescues hepatic steatosis. In view of this, expression of ILDR2 offers a promising strategy for therapeutic intervention against a range of metabolic diseases, including NASH, dyslipidemia, and obesity.

This technology has been validated in vivo using ILDR2 knockdown and overexpression techniques.

Applications:

  • ILDR2 vector-based therapies for metabolic disease
  • Biological and pharmacological methods for ILDR2 upregulation
  • Combinatorial therapies for metabolic disease

Advantages:

  • Offers vector and non-vector methods for increasing ILDR2 expression
  • Treats a variety of metabolic diseases (e.g. NASH, dyslipidemia, obesity, etc.)
  • Effective in reducing liver fat content

Lead Inventor:

Rudolph L. Leibel, MD

Patent Information:

Patent Status

Related Publications:

Tech Ventures Reference:

  • IR CU13175

  • Licensing Contact: Ron Katz