Synthetic antibody promotes weight loss and alleviates diabetic symptoms in monkeys

Image of a cynomolgus macaque. Image credit: iStockphoto/Anna Yu

Researchers at Amgen in British Columbia and California have developed an antibody called mimAb1 that mimics the properties of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). Having a role in regulating fat and glucose metabolism as well as body weight made this particular growth factor a target for the treatment of obesity and diabetes. When administered to obese cynomolgus monkeys, the new antibody promoted significant weight loss as well as decreases in circulating insulin and glucose concentrations during a tolerance test, suggesting that it has beneficial effects in the treatment of diabetes as well. The researchers hope that these findings will lead to clinical trials testing the effects of the antibody in humans.

Source:

I. N. Foltz, S. Hu, C. King, X. Wu, C. Yang, W. Wang, J. Weiszmann, J. Stevens, J. S. Chen, N. Nuanmanee, J. Gupte, R. Komorowski, L. Sekirov, T. Hager, T. Arora, H. Ge, H. Baribault, F. Wang, J. Sheng, M. Karow, M. Wang, Y. Luo, W. McKeehan, Z. Wang, M. M. Véniant, Y. Li, Treating Diabetes and Obesity with an FGF21-Mimetic Antibody Activating the βKlotho/FGFR1c Receptor Complex. Sci. Transl. Med. 4, 162ra153 (2012).