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Commentary: Techlink- Three MD-Based Firms Develop Drugs, Knowledge to Treat Problem of Obesity

Posted on: Friday, 21 October 2005, 12:00 CDT

By Alan Dessoff

It's no fun to be fat, and it's not healthy, either.

With obesity gaining increasing prominence as a serious problem in terms of both medical and economic costs, three Maryland-based companies are trying to develop drugs and knowledge to treat the condition effectively.

According to the American Obesity Association, obesity is a chronic disease that affects more than a quarter of the American population, causing many serious medical conditions and at least 300,000 deaths in the United States each year. A recent study authored by Emory University Professor Kenneth Thorpe found that 31 percent of U.S. adults weigh at least 30 pounds above a healthy level, which classifies them as being obese.

In a study last year, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and RTI International in Raleigh, N.C., found that obese and overweight Americans paid about $75 billion in weight-related medical bills in 2003. Taxpayers covered much of the cost through Medicare and Medicaid. The Thorpe study found that treating an obese person cost $1,244 more than treating a person with a healthy weight in 2002.

Two Maryland startups - Minkon Biotechnology Inc. in Frederick and 4Cyte Therapeutics Inc. in Clarksville - both received $50,000 in April from the Maryland Technology Development Corp. to help them launch research and development activities aimed at combating obesity. A third company, AlphaGenics Inc. in Rockville, has been approaching the problem from a different direction since 1999.

Drug discovery

Collaborating with the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Minkon is targeting the enzyme transketolase (TKT) to discover drugs that treat and/or reduce obesity. The company is testing its first product in animals to determine its efficiency for preventing the condition and reducing excess fat accumulation.

The product - a nutraceutical, which is defined as a food additive, functional food or dietary supplement - will provide a safe dietary choice and functions to maintain normal fat reserves by targeting a key metabolic pathway using a technology that Minkon has patented.

What TEDCO has allowed us to do is test our first prototype product in animals to see that it actually functions as we expect so that we can go to investors and ask them for money to further develop the product and bring it to market, said Minkon Vice President David Nees.

The idea for the innovation was spurred when Nees and a colleague were working at the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda.

We were working with genes in the cornea. Many of these highly expressed genes actually have to do with fat metabolism. We discovered that if you target a particular gene, it affected the fat accumulation in mice, he said.

To explore their discovery further, the pair left to form their company, patented the key technology, and now they are continuing to develop it, Nees said. Although they registered their discovery in 2001, Minkon, as a company, began last year, and five people are associated with it now.

It's exciting. We've been able to get some interest from a possible industry partner and some others we are talking to. We are very enthusiastic, said Nees.

Effective therapeutics

4Cyte Therapeutics' business strategy is to in-license promising technologies and develop them further through the early states of clinical testing. The company is working with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and other institutions, including Stanford and Brigham Young universities, to develop drugs that will treat people with metabolic disorders, including diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome.

The company intends to use high-throughput technology to screen for compounds against its gene targets and to prioritize lead compounds. 4Cyte is developing alpha-glycosidase inhibitors as oral anti-diabetic agents that it has licensed from UMBC. By inhibiting intestinal glycosidases - enzymes that help digest carbohydrates - these small molecules help control blood glucose levels.

Less than a year old, 4Cyte was founded by Amita Behal, who is its CEO. With a doctorate in biochemistry and more than 25 years of experience in biomedical research, she also has a personal interest in her studies.

Obesity is a big factor for diabetes, and I come from a family with a history of diabetes. My father has it; all my uncles have it; my grandmother had it, and now I am at a very high risk myself, Behal said. It's becoming a global problem, and we want to develop effective therapeutics for these devastating diseases.

Holistic approach

AlphaGenics takes a different approach to obesity in that it seeks to broaden the understanding of how diet and the genome interact and how this interaction influences health and illness.

The fact that each person has his or her own genome profile provides the basis to define totally personalized diets that can improve health, according to company founder Fredric Abramson, who holds a doctorate in human genetics. Our strategy is to see what combination of foods works best for a given genotype. We focus on ordinary food and supplements to help regulate a person's genes.

AlphaGenics combines personalized guidance to consumers about making good dietary choices with dedicated research to understand how the nutrient-gene-health system works. The company uses advanced computer and telecommunications applications to bridge the worlds of nutrition and genomics.

Abramson says AlphaGenics is developing a product, Jenejuice, which he describes as a custom-mix sports beverage based on a consumer's genetic profile. You'll be able to get it in a vending machine. Basically, you'll be able to mix your own Gatorade. The intent is to deliver something around your genetic profile that can make you do better in physical performance and even mental ability, Abramson said.

Similarly, with obesity, what we're working on is how to identify the way your genes are working and how that relates to your ability to control your weight. From that, he says, consumers can identify which type of diet works best for them and what is the best strategy for you based on your genetic profile.

Abramson has more than three decades of experience in applying advanced computer technologies to solving health care problems. He also worked for eight years as general counsel and chief scientist for a weight- loss company.

At present, AlphaGenics includes Abramson and two colleagues, as well as 12 part-timers who all hold master's degrees in biotech from the Johns Hopkins University, where Abramson is an adjunct faculty member.

Obesity is actually a sophisticated and complicated topic, he said. One thing I have learned is that weight loss is not about will power, and anyone who thinks it is, is sadly mistaken. Your life is not a light switch that you can turn on and off.

As we age, our metabolism slows down. Our bodies always are changing. Our genes don't change; we still have the same deck of cards. But the way they are being played is different. That's what gave me the idea that what we really have to focus on is how to give people a better insight into what their environment is like, he said.

Source: The Daily Record (Baltimore)

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