Lead Inventor:
Paul Harris, Ph.D.
STV Reference: IR 2024, 2181
Problem or Unmet Need:
The prevalence of diabetes is approaching 10% of the total population, 90% of cases are Diabetes Mellitus or type 2, also known as adult onset. The CDC has characterized the disease as an epidemic and the associated health care costs are staggering, not to mention the impact on quality and length of life. Insulin replacement is the standard treatment, and while effective, is a painful, intrusive, and inexact tool for disease management. A need exists for alternatives to supplement if not replace IV insulin injection. This therapy directly counteracts a mechanism leading to glucose insensitivity in type 2 diabetics and improves the condition by restoring the body's ability to respond as was intended to increased glucose levels.
Details of the Invention:
One of the factors contributing to type 2 diabetes is impaired beta cell function and loss of response to hyperglycemic stimulus. The invention is a novel inhibitor of an ATP dependent transporter molecule expressed in beta cells, which is responsible for the release of a molecule thought to impair glucose response by negatively regulating further insulin release. By inhibiting the transporter this negative feedback mechanism is mitigated and hyperglycemic response restored. This led to improved glucose tolerance in animal trials.
Applications:
• A new, non-insulin based therapy for type 2 diabetes to aid the body's native insulin response to blood glucose levels, may be used independently or in conjunction with other therapies
• Use of a radiolabeled variant of the inhibitor to target beta cells in the pancreas and quantify progression of disease based on degree of labeling
Advantages:
• The inventors have developed novel molecules that have been demonstrated to be safe and effective in an animal model of diabetes (rodent)
• Can be taken orally unlike insulin, eliminating the need for painful injections
• As an a therapy which restores the body's ability to regulate blood glucose on its own, it will lead to better real time glucose management, alleviating the deleterious health effects of hyperglycemia
• A metabolic precursor to this molecule has been used for 5 decades to treat unrelated conditions and has proven itself to be safe and well tolerated by patients
• Most current therapies have adverse side effects, including hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and weight gain, this may eliminate those
Patent Status: Patent Pending (WO/2008/112278) ~ see links below.
Licensing Status: Available for Licensing and Sponsored Research Support
Publications: Relationship between pancreatic vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) and insulin expression in human pancreas,
J Mol Histol. 2008 Oct;39(5):543-51