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Metabolic Syndrome Therapy Targeting Fibroblast Activation Protein [FAP]

Ref: 12077
A small molecule chemical inhibitor, selective for FAP, has potential for improving glucose tolerance in metabolic syndrome patients.

Key advantages
  • The compound is small (200 to 400 daltons) and thus relatively cheap to manufacture.
  • Mouse data suggests that the therapy is likely to be very safe.
  • Mouse data suggests that the therapy is likely to provide additional benefits for patients taking metformin and an incretin therapy.

Background

Metabolic syndrome and its related disorders including diabetes is a massive and growing unsolved health problem that has many therapeutic drugs in use and in development.

The invention

Current type 2 diabetes therapies are at best partially effective at alleviating the patients inability to fully control blood glucose levels.

Many therapies have side effects that make them unsuitable for some patients. Some therapies cause weight gain; indeed only the new incretin therapies do not cause weight gain.

This potential therapy, while still not a cure or panacea, would add to the arsenal of safe effective therapies that will not cause weight gain.

Applications

Potentially a therapy for type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetic conditions including metabolic syndrome and impaired glucose tolerance.

Principal inventors

  • Associate Professor Mark Gorrell

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