[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Microbiome drug development specialist GOBIOLAB announced on the 6th that it has succeeded in elucidating the therapeutic mechanism of metabolic diseases caused by specific gut microbes.
The related paper was published on the website of Nature Microbiology, a top-tier journal in the relevant field.
GOBIOLAB conducted joint research with researchers from Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University Hospital, Korea University College of Life Sciences, and KIST. They secured a protein that regulates the secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1, an appetite-suppressing hormone) secreted by a purely isolated strain of Akkermansia muciniphila. It was confirmed that this protein improved key metabolic disease indicators such as weight control, brown fat activation, and glucose homeostasis regulation. The main receptor of the protein and intracellular signal regulation mechanisms were also verified, confirming the core mechanisms of therapeutic efficacy for metabolic diseases.
The company explained that it is highly significant to have molecular biologically confirmed the metabolic disease-improving functionality of a major gut microbe while simultaneously identifying for the first time in the world the human receptor that interacts with the protein playing a key role.
A company official stated, “We have elucidated the mechanism of action (MoA) of the metabolic disease pipeline KBLP-004, which is being developed as a First in Class innovative drug,” adding, “Unlike other microbiome development companies, it is possible to develop a First in Class drug based on substances secreted by live bacteria rather than just live bacteria themselves, and we have identified for the first time in the world the receptor that reacts with this substance.” He further added, “This means that the value of the pipeline has been enhanced and that we have taken a step further toward technology transfer, as it can be expanded to antibody or small molecule drug development.”
The research results are scheduled to be published as a featured paper in the May issue of Nature Microbiology.
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