Clinical evidence supports the integration of dual amylin and calcitonin receptor agonism (DACRA) with GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptor signaling (triple G) as a synergistic approach for appetite modulation, insulin sensitivity and weight loss. Oban Biopharma Inc. is developing OBT-676, an oral small molecule that delivers full DACRA activity with triple G partial agonism for the treatment of metabolic disorders.

Scarlet Therapeutics Ltd. has demonstrated its manufactured red blood cells (RBCs) act in the same way as their natural counterparts in vivo, opening the way for the cells to be used as drug delivery vehicles and raising the possibility they could replace conventional blood transfusions. To build on this, Scarlet has closed a $4 million seed round to work on the first clinical application, in which RBCs loaded with therapeutic proteins will be used to treat rare metabolic diseases.

Sinopia Biosciences Inc. has entered into a target discovery collaboration with Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. focused on a group of rare metabolic disorders with significant unmet medical need.

Metabolic disorders such as argininosuccinic and glutaric aciduria, methylmalonic acidemia, homocystinuria or primary hyperoxaluria require specific diets to prevent the accumulation of substances that the body can’t process. Current treatments mainly focus on managing symptoms and metabolite levels, and do not always prevent the progressive deterioration caused by mutations associated with the condition. However, emerging gene therapies hold promise for transforming these diseases by targeting their underlying causes, as presented in the oral abstract session, “Gene and cell therapy for metabolic diseases” of the ongoing 28th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) meeting in New Orleans.

Apollo Therapeutics Group Ltd. and Sunshine Lake Pharma Co. Ltd. inked a potential $938 million licensing deal for APL-18881 (HEC-88473), Sunshine’s dual fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21)/glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist currently in a phase II study for type 2 diabetes.

Apollo Therapeutics Group Ltd. and Sunshine Lake Pharma Co. Ltd. inked a potential $938 million licensing deal for APL-18881 (HEC-88473), Sunshine’s dual fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21)/glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist currently in a phase II study for type 2 diabetes.

After finding a mutation in METTL2A in a family with diabetes exhibiting a special phenotype, investigators at Zhejiang University School of Medicine studied its role in glucose and lipid metabolism in METTL2 (murine orthologue) knockout mice and wild-type mice fed a normal chow or a high-fat diet (HFD) for 20 weeks.

The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a sensor of metabolic stress and a key mediator in preserving metabolic homeostasis both at the cellular and organism levels. AMPK activation is considered a targetable mechanism for diseases associated with metabolic perturbations, such as diabetes, obesity, fatty liver disease and cancer, among others. However, the regulators of AMPK that antagonize AMPK activators remain unknown, although they are critical to efficiently target AMPK activation for therapeutic purposes.

Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have published data from a study designed to assess the role of serine-arginine-rich splicing factor 1 (SRSF1) in hepatocyte function and survival.