This technology describes a method to treat metabolic diseases using a natural human peptide hormone that reduces both food consumption and the uptake of fatty acids into the liver.
Obesity and related co-morbidities including type 2 diabetes mellitus, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) pose a significant health burden worldwide. Weight loss approaches such as diet and lifestyle changes and bariatric surgery show limited usefulness and frequently result in post-treatment weight regain. Further, post-operative patients often maintain weight gain-promoting hormonal patterns and fat metabolism that contribute to increased appetite, insulin insensitivity, NAFLD, and NASH. In the last decade, the incidences of NAFLD and NASH have reached epidemic proportions. At present, there are no approved drugs for the treatment of NAFLD or NASH.
This technology uses a human peptide hormone, spexin, to treat obesity and related metabolic disorders. Spexin is a naturally produced satiety factor that is severely under-expressed in the subcutaneous and omental fat depots of obese people. Administration of this peptide to obese patients can reduce food craving and caloric intake and also inhibit fatty acid uptake into adipocytes and hepatocytes. Restoring the balance of satiety via spexin therapy may result in improved fat metabolism that reduces the incidence of obesity-related comorbidities such as NAFLD and NASH.
This technology has been validated in animal models of obesity, NAFLD and NASH, and also in tissue samples from obese humans.
IR 2723
Licensing Contact: Ron Katz