obesity assay - Isis Project No 3342
Obesity assays can aid development of new pharmaceutical candidates for treatment of obesity.
Marketing Opportunity
Globally there are 300 million obese people. In the UK alone over a fifth of adults are obese and of the remaining population, half of men and a third of women are overweight. Obesity is a leading cause of disorders such as type-2 diabetes, some cancers and heart disease. Obesity has a strong genetic component but until recently there was little success in identifying the underlying genetic causes.
Recent evidence shows strong links exist between obesity, type-2 diabetes and variants in the FTO (fat mass and obesity associated) gene1. People with two copies of the “fat” FTO gene have a 70% higher risk of obesity than those with none, and weigh 3kg (6.5lb) more. People carrying one copy of the FTO gene had a 30% higher risk of being obese compared to a person with no copies of the gene.
The Oxford Invention
Oxford researchers have shown for the first time that FTO is an enzyme, and has similar structure and mechanism of action identifying it as a member of a family of enzymes known as oxygenases2. Oxygenases are involved in diverse processes including DNA repair, fatty acid metabolism and post translational modifications. FTO has a potential role in DNA modifications, a way of changing the activity of genes without changing the genes themselves.
The work identifies the FTO enzyme as a new drug target for the control of obesity. The researchers have developed a range of assays, which can be used in identifying and developing pharmaceutical (drug) candidates.
Patent Status
This work is the subject of a recent patent application, and Isis would like to talk to companies interested in developing the commercial opportunity that this represents. Please contact the Isis Project Manager to discuss this further.
REFERENCES
- Science 316 (5826): 889-94
- Science 318 (5855): 1469-72
Request Further Information for Project Number 3342 - Obesity Assay