Karo Bio announced that the company immediately would obtain rights to technologies, lead compounds and preclinical data from its joint diabetes collaboration with Abbott Laboratories. For strategic reasons, Abbott Laboratories has decided to transfer these rights in the joint program to Karo Bio including the novel, first-in-class compound, A-348441 for the treatment of type-2 diabetes.
In 1999 Karo Bio AB and Abbott Laboratories initiated a joint project for the discovery and development of new treatments for type-2 diabetes. The joint drug discovery phase concluded in January 2003 after successfully discovering a new and promising concept for type 2 diabetes based upon the lead compound A-348441. This compound targets the glucocorticoid receptor within the liver, which is known to be an important target for regulating glucose output.
In studies involving diabetic and dyslipidemic animals, A-348441 has been shown to normalize blood glucose levels and to lower levels of certain elevated lipids. In addition, A-348441 significantly reduces hepatic glucose output with secondary improvements in insulin sensitivity across multiple animal species. Glucocorticoid receptors are present in a variety of tissues and the A-348441 compound also possesses binding activity to the progesterone receptor.
However, A-348441 is pharmacologically selective for the liver, thereby minimizing potential side effects in other parts of the body. One side effect commonly observed with the currently marketed insulin sensitizers is weight gain; however, no weigh gain was observed in animals treated with the A-348441 compound. "We are very excited by A-348441's improved profile compared to several drugs on the market, as well as compounds currently in development. This compound reduces blood glucose effectively but also significantly reduces triglycerides, cholesterol and free fatty acids which all are important risk factors for diabetics. While we enjoyed working with Abbott Laboratories and would have been delighted to see them continue in the program, we respect Abbott's strategic decision. It is our intention to move the program forward as soon as the transfer of the project information and materials has been concluded. We believe a program based on A-348441 has a very high potential in the diabetes market due to its unique pharmacological profile and the medical community's urgent need for compounds with new mechanisms of action," says Björn Nilsson, president & CEO of Karo Bio.
Diabetes is a major health issue in industrialized countries, where one in ten adults may develop type-2 diabetes in their lifetime. Over 150 million people worldwide have type-2 diabetes, and this number is projected to rise to 300 million by 2025. It is estimated that more than one-third of the people with type-2 diabetes are undiagnosed and only 13per cent of treated patients are able to reach desired blood glucose levels. Therefore, an urgent need exists for new, safe and effective treatments for type-2 diabetes.