Opaganib Targets Novel Pathway in Obesity and Diabetes Treatment

RedHill Biopharma has revealed encouraging findings from in vivo tests carried out by Apogee Biotechnology Corporation, a partner, demonstrating opaganib's effects on glucose tolerance and weight gain in a high-fat diet (HFD) model. The trials, which looked at the basic causes of diabetes and obesity-related diseases, demonstrated how effective opaganib treatment is in reducing body weight growth, glucose intolerance loss, and fat accumulation brought on by a high-fat diet. Furthermore, in an already obese HFD animal, opaganib therapy reversed weight gain and improved glucose tolerance, indicating its promise for treating diseases associated with obesity.

Sphingolipid metabolism is a crucial route in many illnesses, including obesity, according to RedHill Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Mark Levitt. However, it has not been sufficiently studied as a therapeutic target for human therapy. Targeting three important enzymes in this pathway, opaganib is the first therapeutic medication to operate as a sphingosine competitor. By 2034, the global market for obesity-diabetes medications is expected to be valued at approximately $100 billion. The primary drivers of this market are GLP-1 inhibitors, such as Wegovy and Ozempic from Novo Nordisk, Trulicity and Mounjaro from Eli Lilly, and Jardiance from Boehringer Ingelheim, which inhibits sodium glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2).