Peptide Compositions for Treating Obesity and Weight Management

Stanford inventors in the lab of Dr. Katrin Svensson have discovered an endogenous peptide hormone that shows promise in treating obesity and diabetes.

Obesity affects greater than 40% of people in the US, and can lower life expectancy by 5-10 years. Peptide drugs have grown as a field in treating obesity, as pharmacological modulators of food intake and body weight regulation. The inventors identified a novel, small bioactive peptide through a screening campaign as a potential therapeutic treatment for obesity. Indeed, this novel peptide was shown in vivo to potently suppress food intake and reduce weight in mice without inducing negative side effects in energy expenditure or anxiety-like behavior. Importantly, compared to other peptide modulators of food intake such as GLP-1, this novel peptide also improved glucose and insulin tolerance in obese and diabetic mice, suggesting it can be used to treat a larger number of patients with diabetes and obesity.

Stage of Development: In vivo efficacy and safety