From Mary Shomon Your Thyroid Guide
Press Release: Anti-Obesity Drug to Target Thyroid Hormone Receptors
August 31, 2001 / STOCKHOLM, Sweden, -- Karo Bio and Bristol-Myers
Squibb
have jointly discovered a novel anti-obesity drug
candidate that targets the thyroid hormone receptor. BMS has now filed an
Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) to initiate clinical trials in man with the drug
candidate.
Although thyroid hormone increases metabolism, it also has stimulatory
effects on heart rate and consequently, that latter activity prevents the
use
of native thyroid hormone for the treatment of obesity. However, Karo Bio
and
BMS have successfully developed a selective compound that maintains the
stimulatory effects on metabolism while eliminating the cardiac side
effects.
Extensive testing of this compound in relevant animal models has shown
very
positive results with significant weight-lowering and demonstrating a
broad
therapeutic window.
Obesity is the most serious health problem in the western world and often
leads to life threatening diseases such as cardiovascular disease and
diabetes. Since the medical need for developing treatments for obesity in
the
western world is largely unmet, the Karo Bio/BMS drug candidate has
significant block-buster market potential. For its part in this alliance,
BMS
has been responsible for all animal studies and will be responsible for
clinical development.
In addition to the first generation compound entering the clinic, the
companies continue to collaborate on the development of second-generation
compounds which may expand the possible indications attributed to this
class
of novel thyroid hormone receptor agonists.
SOURCE: Karo Bio
