Experimental obesity drug promising, demonstrating durability, claims pharma firm
Amgen claims experimental obesity drug demonstrating durability
The experimental obesity drug of Amgen Inc showed trends of promising durability in its initial trial, making way for a large mid-stage study in the next years, said company officials on Saturday, before the data presentation.In the Phase I trial, it was discovered that weight loss is being maintained by patients for 70 days after they have been administered the injected highest tested dose of the drug which is known as AMG133.
The shares of Amgen gained about 5% after the company on November 7 said that in the trial treatment of 12 weeks in which the highest monthly dose of AMG133 was administered, it was observed that there was a mean weight loss of 14.5%.
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After 150 days of the last dose, there was a drop in the maintained weight to 11.2% below the original weight when the trial started, as per the findings discussed in the meeting of the World Congress of Insulin Resistance, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease held in Los Angeles.
Amgen stated that the patients who were treated with AMG133 did suffer side effects which include vomiting and nausea, however, in most cases the symptoms were mild and the issues resolved in a couple of days after taking the first dose.
It was estimated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that more than 40% of the population in the US is obese, which annually costs nearly $173 billion. This is a primary reason for type 2 diabetes, a few cancers, heart disease and complications in health like severe COVID-19.
Amgen's head of cardiovascular metabolic discovery explained that the company had developed the drug to identify genetic signals which are related to body weight and lower fat mass, as well as healthy metabolic profiles.
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"Genetics clearly showed in multiple large populations that decreased activity genetically of the GIP receptor gene was associated with lower BMI (body mass index)," he added.
The biotech now plans to start AMG133's mid-stage study early next year in which a wide range of patients will be enrolled, which will include people suffering from additional health conditions like diabetes.
