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New research driving ghrelin forward as an antiobesity target 11-September E Sussex:
LeadDiscovery, the
pharmaceutical analysts, announced
today the general release of their intelligence report "Ghrelin:
Pharmaceutical & Therapeutic Opportunities for the Treatment of
Obesity" lt
is estimated that somewhere between 34 and 61 million people in the US are obese
and in much of the world this incidence is increasing by about 1% per year. As a
general guide, obesity increases the likelihood of death from all causes by 20%,
and plays a major role in the development of coronary heart disease, stroke,
diabetes and gall bladder disease. In their intelligence report released today
"Ghrelin: Pharmaceutical & Therapeutic Opportunities for the Treatment
of Obesity" LeadDiscovery evaluate the potential of one of the most promising
molecular targets to have been identified by antiobesity researchers in recent
years. Although
scientists only identified ghrelin in 1999, more than 400 papers on the
substance have since been published. “Our
aim at LeadDiscovery has always been
to evaluate new drug discovery targets for the pharmaceutical industry” said
Dr Jon Goldhill, CEO and chief analyst at LeadDiscovery “and we have been particularly impressed with the
proof of concept surrounding the development of ghrelin receptor ligands for the
treatment of obesity”. Indeed
many of the more recent publications investigating ghrelin offer key data
supporting the development of this class including studies which relate ghrelin
levels to nutritional status and perhaps even more importantly the effects of
ghrelin receptor antagonists. In addition reports have recently emerged linking
ghrelin to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and septic shock. Following
the withdrawal of early treatments, the market
for anti-obesity pharmaceuticals was reestablished in November 1997, when the
FDA approved Abbott's sibutramine (Reductil/Meridia), for use in obesity, and
still further in April 1999, when Roche's Xenical (orlistat) was also approved.
The world obesity market has been predicted to reach $3.7 billion by 2008 with a
compound annual growth rate of 21.1%. This market potential has caused
pharmaceutical companies to prioritize the identification of novel anti-obesity
products and consequently, according to some analysts, the number of drugs in
clinical development to treat obesity has increased by 400% since the year 2000.
“The growth in the incidence of obesity and the associated market value, as
well as an increase in research surrounding ghrelin has prompted us into
producing a full evaluation of this most exciting target” state sources at LeadDiscovery.
Many
promising targets and therapeutics have emerged from the field of metabolic
disease research. Indeed LeadDiscovery’s
metabolic disease tracker, DailyUpdates
has featured information on Axokine and peptide YY3-36 exciting advances this
week alone. Will ghrelin receptor
antagonists follow the same path? Analysts at LeadDiscovery believe that the chances are good and their report on
this area provides all key information required for companies to evaluate this
area and to drive it forward. For further details and to access this
dossier visit the following address: http://www.leaddiscovery.co.uk/reports/Ghrelin-2003.html About LeadDiscovery: LeadDiscovery
(www.leaddiscovery.co.uk)
was founded in 1998 by life scientists for life scientists. Services offered
focus on the delivery of pharmaceutical intelligence and include DailyUpdates
a publication tracking service which delivers journal articles pre-selected for
the drug development community (http://www.leaddiscovery.co.uk/PubMed-dailyupdates.html)
and DiscoveryDossiers, full analyses
of in-licensing options and/or breaking areas of pharmaceutical focus. |
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