Boehringer Ingelheim and Zealand Pharma : licence and collaboration agreement to advance novel compounds to treat Type-2 diabetes and obesity

16 June 2011 - Boehringer Ingelheim obtains global rights to glucagon/GLP-1 dual agonists, including ZP2929, Zealand Pharma’s lead drug candidate in this class - Zealand Pharma is eligible to receive total projected milestone payments of up to €376 million for ZP2929 – ...Zealand Pharma (NASDAQ OMX: ZEAL), a Copenhagen based biopharmaceutical company, and Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, jointly announced an exclusive global licence and collaboration agreement for dual-acting glucagon and GLP-1 receptor agonists for the treatment of patients with Type-2 diabetes and patients with obesity.

As part of the agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim obtains global development and commercialisation rights to ZP2929, Zealand Pharma’s lead glucagon/GLP-1 dual agonist drug candidate. Zealand Pharma will be responsible for conducting the first Phase I study with ZP2929 and Boehringer Ingelheim will fund the research, development and commercialisation of products under the agreement.


Depending on the achievement of pre-defined development, regulatory and commercial milestones, Zealand Pharma is eligible to receive payments for ZP2929 and may also receive additional milestone payments if other products covered by the collaboration are advanced through development. Further, Zealand Pharma is entitled to tiered royalties that range from high single to low double digits on global sales of products under the agreement. Zealand Pharma retains co-promotion rights in Scandinavia... Zealand Pharma's Press Release - Boehringer Ingelheim's Press Release -

Regulus Therapeutics and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals : Nature Article Implicates microRNAs in the Pathogenesis of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

June 8, 2011 – Work of scientists with Regulus, Alnylam and ETH Zurich shows microRNAs103/107 are upregulated in mouse models of obesity; targeting with anti-miRs improves glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity – Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company leading the discovery and development of innovative medicines targeting microRNAs, and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced the publication in Nature of new pre-clinical data in mice about the antagonism of microRNA-103 and microRNA-107 (miR-103/107). Data from a collaborative study performed by Regulus, Alnylam and ETH Zurich demonstrated that antagonism of miR-103/107 with proprietary chemically modified anti-miR oligonucleotides could promote insulin signaling in both liver and adipose tissue. Silencing miR-103/107 in animal models of obesity improved glucose homeostasis, suggesting that these microRNAs are potential targets for the treatment of diabetes.


Defects in insulin signaling are among the most common and earliest defects that predispose an individual to the development of type 2 diabetes. The new findings demonstrated that miR-103/107 are upregulated in obese mice, and silencing with anti-miRs could improve glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity, while gain of function in liver or fat caused impaired glucose homeostasis. Direct targets of miR-103/107 identified include caveolin-1, a critical regulator of the insulin receptor. Upon miR-103/107 inactivation, caveolin-1 is upregulated, resulting in stabilization of the insulin receptor, enhanced insulin signaling, decreased adipocyte size and enhanced insulin-stimulated glucose uptake... Regulus Therapeutics' Press Release - Alnylam Pharmaceuticals' Press Release -

New GE Technology Targets Obesity-related Disease

25 May 2011 - Visceral “Belly” Fat Application on GE Body Composition Systems Aids in Obesity Assessment and Monitoring - GE Healthcare announced 510k clearance of CoreScan – a widely-accessible application dedicated to quickly and accurately quantifying visceral adipose tissue (VAT), or visceral “belly” fat, during body composition analysis. Hosted on GE Lunar’s iDXA body composition system, CoreScan provides patients and physicians an advanced tool to quantify VAT in order to help assess, manage, and treat obesity-related disease.

“CoreScan offers instant, precise and reproducible fat-quantifying results that go beyond the bathroom scale,” said Laura Stoltenberg, general manager of GE Healthcare’s Lunar business. “As part of an iDXA body composition exam, CoreScan can help patients and physicians tailor individualized health and wellness plans while addressing the growing global danger of obesity-related disease.”... GE Healthcare's Press Release -

Archimedes, Inc. and FDA : Collaboration to Evaluate the Clinical Risks and Benefits of Weight Loss Medications

January 20, 2011 - Clinical Trial Simulation Will Model Obesity Interventions — Archimedes Inc., a healthcare modeling company, announced that it has entered into a Research Collaboration Agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop a computer model of clinical trials evaluating weight loss medications. The model will be used to obtain a better understanding of the benefits of weight loss against the long-term risks of cardiovascular outcomes in patients treated with weight loss drugs.

The computer model will attempt to reproduce the results of the Sibutramine Cardiovascular Outcome Trial (SCOUT), which showed that patients receiving sibutramine were 16 percent more likely to suffer serious cardiac events than those who received a placebo. The model is expected to provide insight into the relationship between patient outcomes and cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol. The model will then be used to explore outcomes over a 10-year simulated extension of the SCOUT trial.

"We are excited about the collaborative work we are conducting with the FDA to further understand the effects of weight loss medications in a population of 'virtual' patients... Archimedes' Press Release -

GlaxoSmithKline : non-core OTC products to be divested

Thursday 14 April 2011 - GSK identified the non-core OTC brands that it intends to divest as the company focuses its Consumer Healthcare business around a portfolio of fast-growing priority brands and the emerging markets. GSK’s intention to divest its non-core Consumer assets was announced at the company’s fourth quarter 2010 results on 3rd February 2011.
The products to be divested, which are primarily sold in Europe and the United States, had sales in 2010 of approximately £500 million, 10% of GSK’s total Consumer Healthcare turnover. They include analgesics: Solpadeine, BC and Goody’s; vitamin and supplement product Abtei; feminine hygiene treatment Lactacyd; and alli for weight management.
Individually, the brands to be divested have strong heritage and good prospects, but GSK has lacked sufficient critical mass in some product categories and certain brands have lacked focus due to other global priorities. GSK therefore believes that other companies are better placed to maximise the potential they offer... GSK 's Press Release -