Fibroblast Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 (FGFBP3) therapy to treat Diabetes and Obesity

Categories: Other Disorders

Reference #: 2013-001

OTC Contact: Ruchika Nijhara, Ph.D., MBA, CLP, Director ( Directory Information | Send a Message )

Description

Georgetown researchers demonstrate that a single injection of the protein FGFBP3 alone is enough to restore the body’s ability to regulate insulin and blood sugar levels to a healthy range for more than 24 hours. Our researchers show that FGFBP3 enhances the binding affinity of Fibroblast Growth Factors 15/19 (FGFs15/19) to their preferential receptors to work effectively, leading to normalizing hyperglycemia, and reducing expression of G6PC for gluconeogenesis

Application

Use of FGFBP3 for the treatment of:

• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Related metabolic diseases

Advantages

• Unlike the side effects of current diabetes treatments, FGFBP3 approach lead to:
• ​Increasing insulin sensitivity
• Restoring normal blood sugar levels without causing life-threatening hypoglycemia
• Normalized blood sugar levels lasts for >24 hours after a single dose
• Safer treatments, as it does NOT promot mitogenic effects as exogenous as FGF19/21 injections
• The efficacy promises to have broad applicability of regulatory success than small molecules
• Biologic therapies are known by their higher probability of regulatory success than small molecules
• A novel therapeutic target for the treatment of diabetes or obesity

Stage of Development

Cell culture and animal validation studies have been done to evaluate the effect of injecting FGFBP3 in fed diabetic transgenic ob/ob mice. Studies report that:

• FGFBP3 binds to FGFs and enhances FGF19/FGFR interaction, signaling and metabolic effects
• FGFBP3 injection normalized hyperglycemia with in 4 hours, an effect that lasted for >24 hours
• FGFBP3 inhibits gluconeogenesis through IRS2/AKT and IL6/STAT3 –dependent down regulation of G6PC by modulating endogenous FGF15/19 activity 

Patent Status

PCT Application Number (WO2014/152089) filed on 14 March 2014

Inventor

Anton Wellstein