Hitaka To Present Axcelead GLP-1 Rodent Nausea Data At Obesity 26

Preclinical teams advancing GLP-1 receptor agonist programs face a persistent translational gap: rodents lack the vomiting reflex, leaving nausea and emesis liability largely uncharacterised until late-stage studies. Axcelead's Translational Research Business Unit is presenting data at the joint 47th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society for the Study of Obesity (JSSO) and 44th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for the Treatment of Obesity (JSTO) on October 3, 2026, that proposes a salivary-parameter approach to close that gap.

Researcher Kosuke Hitaka will deliver an oral presentation titled Anti-Obesity Effects of GLP-1-Related Peptides in Obesity Model Mice and Development of a Rodent Model for Nausea and Vomiting Assessment during JSTO Oral Presentation Session 2 (09:45–10:45 JST) at Light Cube Utsunomiya, Tochigi prefecture, Japan. The session draws on two parallel lines of investigation: efficacy characterisation in MC4R-deficient mice and a salivary biomarker model for emesis-related responses.

On the efficacy side, multiple GLP-1-related peptides were evaluated in melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R)-deficient mice, a model of hyperphagic obesity driven by impaired hypothalamic food-intake regulation. Body weight reductions observed in the model were consistent with clinical findings published in International Journal of Obesity (2026 Apr; 50:928–937), though reductions in muscle mass and metabolic rate were also noted, parameters relevant to benefit-risk framing in regulatory submissions.

The salivary model addresses a structural limitation in standard rodent pharmacology packages. Semaglutide administration in rats produced a marked reduction in salivary volume alongside increased salivary amylase activity. Although the dataset remains limited in case numbers, the salivary volume reduction aligned directionally with clinical case reports, supporting its potential as a translatable surrogate endpoint for nausea and vomiting liability. For drug development teams building preclinical safety packages for GLP-1 pipeline assets, a validated rodent emesis surrogate would reduce reliance on non-rodent species for this specific endpoint and could inform earlier go/no-go decisions ahead of IND-enabling studies.

Axcelead notes that MC4R-deficient mice are one component of a broader metabolic disease model portfolio, supported by researchers with more than 20 years of experience in the field.

The salivary amylase and volume dataset presented on October 3 will be a measurable reference point for teams evaluating whether this surrogate approach warrants integration into their own GLP-1 preclinical study designs.

Source: Axcelead via axcelead-us.com, September 11, 2026.