Ascletis Pharma Inc. has selected ASC-35, a once-monthly, subcutaneously administered GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R)/GIP receptor (GIPR) dual peptide agonist, as a clinical development candidate. Ascletis expects to submit an IND application to the FDA for ASC-35 for the treatment of obesity in the second quarter of next year.
Confo Therapeutics NV has secured a 2-year €1 million (US$1.2 million) grant from Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) to advance research and development of ultra-long-acting medicines targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), including bi- and multispecific antibody formats for obesity and other metabolic and endocrine disorders.
A major contributor to obesity-related pathology is inflammation involving a shift in macrophage polarization toward the inflammatory M1 phenotype and accumulation of such macrophages in the liver and adipose tissue. Activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) on macrophages leads the downstream adaptor protein MyD88 to promote M1 polarization through altered gene expression mediated by the transcription factor NF-κB.
Obesity is a multifactorial metabolic disorder with limited treatment options capable of sustaining weight loss and improving systemic metabolic health. MicroRNA-22 (miR-22) has emerged as an essential regulator of metabolic homeostasis, influencing lipid biosynthesis, mitochondrial function and brown adipose tissue development. These roles position miR-22 as a promising target for therapeutic intervention in obesity and related disorders such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic disease (MASLD) and its progressive disease state, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
Touchstone Innovations Ltd. has described peptide hormone analogues acting as gastric inhibitory polypeptide receptor (GIPR) agonists reported to be useful for the treatment of obesity.
Although the development pipeline for obesity treatments is expanding rapidly, weight loss is often accompanied by a concurrent reduction in lean muscle mass, highlighting the need for novel therapeutic approaches that promote fat loss while preserving muscle. Activin type II receptors (ACTRIIA/B) are regulators of muscle homeostasis, while the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor (GIPR) plays a role in energy balance and adiposity.
At the ongoing European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting in Vienna, Hanmi Holdings Co. Ltd. presented preclinical efficacy data on HM-15275, a long-acting GLP-1/GIP/glucagon receptor triple agonist developed for the treatment of obesity and its associated metabolic complications.
University of Notre Dame du Lac has disclosed peptide-drug conjugates, their hydrogels and their self-assembling nanofibers comprising glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) and/or gastric inhibitory polypeptide receptor (GIPR) and/or glucagon receptor agonists linked to an amphiphile moiety through a hydrophobic or hydrophilic-comprising linker acting as vaccine adjuvants reported to be useful for the treatment of diabetes and obesity.
