We have some updates to report on two start-ups we profiled several months ago, Arete Therapeutics and DuoCort. Here we go…

Arete Therapeutics

Arete Therapeutics, which we wrote about back in December, presented three posters on its soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitor program at ADA this week. The posters were all preclinical, but demonstrated solid evidence in controlling glucose homeostasis in obese mice. Here’s the abstracts:

• “AR9281, a Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Inhibitor – Efficacy in a DIO Mouse Model plus Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics in Mice and Men” (Whitcomb, R, Chen, D, Wang, J, Anandan, S-K, Gless, R and Webb, H).

• “A Novel Inhibitor of Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase, AR9281, Improves Glucose Homeostasis in Diet-Induced Obese Mice” (Wong, K, Zhang, L-N, Vincelette, J, Chen, D, Mehra, U, Cheng, Y, Gless, R, Anandan, S-K, Webb, H).

• “Improvement of Glucose Homeostasis by AR9281, a Novel Inhibitor of Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase, in Diet-Induced Obese Mice Does Not Depend on Active Nitric Oxide Synthase” (Vincelette, J, Chen, D, Mehra, U, Cheng, Y, Gless, R, Anandan, S-K, MacIntyre, E and Wang, J).

Arete also provided an update on its sEH inhibitor AR9281. A Phase 2a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of AR9281 in pre-diabetic patients with impaired glucose tolerance, mild obesity and mild to moderate hypertension is currently enrolling patients with a target enrollment of 150. Here’s the protocol:

• Treatment-naive for type 2 diabetes medications or on two or less antihypertensive medications.

• Two dosing schedules (twice-daily and three times daily) vs. placebo;

• Each patient receives 28 days of treatment;

• Endpoints are safety, tolerability, reduction of blood pressure and various measures of glucose and lipid metabolism

Arete expects to report results in early 2010.

DuoCort

DuoCort, which we profiled back in January, presented data at ENDO (91st annual Endocrine Society Congress) on its once-daily dual-release hydrocortisone (HC) tablet in patients with adrenal insufficiency (AI).

The data compared the plasma pharmacokinetics (PK) of the once-daily (OD) tablet with thrice daily (TID) administration of a standard HC tablet. The study, which analyzed 63 patients and was designed as a randomized, two-period 12-week crossover multi-center trial, showed that OD had an increased cortisol release during the first 4 hours after intake in the morning and reduced exposure in the late afternoon as compared with TID.

The study met its goal of mimicing the endogenous diurnal profile of cortisol and could provide a new therapy for patients with AI (ex. Addison’s disease). The OD product was also able to reduce blood pressure and improve glucose metabolism vs TID, in particular in patients with DM. No safety or tolerability issues were noted.

No word on the financial status of the company however.

Here’s the abstract.

Another strong VC Bull Watch…

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