Bwt 071706 - latest biolinerx in license oral peptide drug for obesity.qxd
C H ’ S M O S T R E S P E C T E D N E W S S O U R C E F O R O V E R 1 5 Y E A R S T H E D A I L Y B I O T E C H N O L O G Y N E W S P A P E R Latest BioLineRx In-License: Oral Peptide Drug For Obesity
BioLineRx Ltd. is padding its portfolio with the addition
The company was founded to in-license early stage
therapeutic candidates – 13 have been brought in to date –
The Jerusalem firm in-licensed exclusive worldwide
complete preclinical feasibility testing and advance them
rights to the orally available compound, called BL-3020,
into clinical studies if appropriate. Failures are weeded out
from Yissum, the technology transfer company of the
quickly – already five programs have been terminated –
and attention shifts to others in the pipeline, which is
“Obesity is an epidemic,” BioLineRx CEO Morris Laster
designed to include a base of 10 compounds at any given
told BioWorld Today, later adding he likes “the potential of
time. (See BioWorld Today, March 6, 2006.)
Though specific financial terms of the latest deal were
BL-3020 is designed to reduce food intake by binding
not disclosed, Laster said its structure is a typical revenue-
to those receptors on the brain, which “have been
sharing arrangement for BioLineRx. Going forward, the
known for years” to control appetite, Laster said. But
company will foot the bill for BL-3020’s development
small molecules synthesized to act on MC-4, he noted,
through proof-of-concept studies, after which it plans to
In contrast, the BL-3020 agonist is “a very potent
Obesity, of course, has gained attention as an emerging
version” of the MC-4 ligand, an elusive target because it has
health and economic crisis for developed countries. It is
yet to be affected orally. Chemical structure modifications
estimated that 60 million people are obese in the U.S.,
enable it to cross the blood-brain barrier, despite its size as
where the problem has increased by 60 percent over the
a peptide, and increase its stability and absorption in the
“It’s a cause of a tremendous amount of morbidity and
mortality,” Laster said, “vis-à-vis cardiovascular disease,
Preclinical experiments in mice conducted at the
university, where BL-3020 was discovered by Haim
Global revenue from obesity drugs is forecast to reach
Gilon and Amnon Hoffman, resulted in a decrease in
$2.5 billion by 2012, and Laster said such products could
food consumption. Also importantly, the mice did not
effectively complement behavioral changes to fight that
show any clinical or behavioral abnormalities after its
Prescription pharmaceuticals already in the space
BioLineRx plans to conduct additional preclinical work
include Accomplia (rimonabant, Sanofi Aventis Group),
throughout this year and next – in vivo feasibility studies,
which he praised for its ability to act through the central
lead optimization and full preclinical development – with
nervous system, and Xenical (orlistat, F. Hoffmann-La Roche
clinical trials expected to begin in 2008. The company will
Ltd.), which is less patient-friendly because it can cause
develop the compound through its BioLine Innovations
diarrhea, with many more in development.
Jerusalem subsidiary under an Israeli government grant.
Elsewhere in BioLineRx’s pipeline is a single clinical-stage
That funding, awarded in November 2004, makes up
compound, BL-1020, a neurotransmission modulator for
about half of BioLineRx’s capitalization; since its inception
schizophrenia that is in Phase I. The randomized, double-blind,
earlier that year, it has brought in about $43 million in
placebo-controlled trial is expected to end later this year,
with Phase II to come early next year.
2006. Reprinted With Permission From BioWorld® Today, Atlanta, Georgia.
To subscribe, please call BIOWORLD® Customer Service at (800) 688-2421; outside the U.S. and Canada, call (404) 262-5476.
Copyright 2006 Thomson BioWorld ®. Reproduction is strictly prohibited.
In addition, a number of other products are nearing the
early next year under an investigational device exemption.
Lastly, the company plans to begin a Phase I/II feasibility
Preclinical studies of BL-2040, an oral small molecule
study of a newly in-licensed product called BL-3010 for
for hypertension and metabolic syndrome, have demonstrated
acute and chronic pain in a couple of months.
its ability to reduce weight and other symptoms of those
The coming clinical work might prompt BioLineRx to
seek additional funding at some point next year, Laster
An exploratory microdosing Phase 0 study is expected
said, though he noted that its existing money would
to begin late this year or early next year. BL-1040, a
sustain operations for the next 18 months. ■
biodegradable alginate polymer scaffold designed to treatacute myocardial infarction, should enter a Phase I/II trial
To subscribe, please call BIOWORLD® Customer Service at (800) 688-2421; outside the U.S. and Canada, call (404) 262-5476.
Copyright 2006Thomson BioWorld®. Reproduction is strictly prohibited. Visit our web site at www.bioworld.com.
Become a nonsmoker! Are you ready? By Mark B renn aman , M.Ed . Plot your position Congratulations! You’re either thinking about quittingor have decided to quit smoking. You’re at thebeginning of one of the most important journeys of your Lifestyle change life and this guide will help you map your way andyou’ll have extra confidence in your quit because of thepreparation tha
Commentary / Walker: A refined model of sleep and the time course of memory formationwhich settles the debate about the exclusiveness of memory con-tical inversion of the visual field. In the second study, the personswho experienced incorporations of the inverted visual field inIn describing the findings regarding procedural memory andtheir dreams performed better on tasks (reading and writi