Hong Kong, May 5 (ZXS) -- The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) announced on the 22nd that the research teams of the two universities have made a major breakthrough in the joint research and development of new drugs, the first drug that can treat a variety of metabolic diseases related to obesity and insulin resistance.
PolyU and CUHK recently held a joint press conference to introduce that a research team led by Professor Leung Yun Song, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences of PolyU's Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, Lo Ka Keo Charitable Foundation, and Associate Professor Shen Xiuyuan, School of Biomedical Sciences, CUHK Faculty of Medicine, found that when arginine, a semi-essential amino acid in the blood, is at low levels, known as "arginine starvation", cells inhibit fat synthesis, promote lipolysis and enhance sensitivity to insulin. However, under normal circumstances, arginase, which can break down arginine, has a very short cycle half-life, less than 30 minutes.
The team developed a new drug, ABarginase, which uses a novel pharmacological mechanism - arginine consumption, to cleverly open up a new path for providing a single drug that is safe, long-lasting, and suitable for the treatment of a variety of obesity-related diseases.
ABarginase is suitable for a variety of metabolic diseases such as prediabetes, type II diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, etc., and the pharmaceutical process is low cost and efficient, so that more patients can afford and benefit, and has broad clinical application prospects. At present, the research team has applied for patents for new drugs in many countries, and is upgrading the pharmaceutical process to meet the quality requirements of good manufacturing practice, and preparing for clinical trials.
Shen Xiuyuan said that ABarginase has shown great potential in preclinical research results, which is expected to provide safe and effective solutions for the treatment of a variety of metabolic diseases related to obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes and so on. Among them, there is no drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, so the research and development of ABarginase is particularly significant for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
In addition, at the 48th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, Hong Kong won two of the highest awards, and ABarginase was one of them, winning the "Best Invention Award of the International Federation of Inventors' Associations". PolyU said that this not only affirms the potential of new drugs to improve patient well-being and global healthcare, but also highlights the international recognition of the level of scientific research collaboration between Hong Kong institutions. (End)