Hanmi Pharm has announced promising research results for its novel obesity treatment, HM17321. According to the company, this groundbreaking drug not only augments fat loss but also significantly increases lean muscle mass, marking it as a potential game-changer in obesity management. HM17321 addresses a key limitation in current GLP-1-based therapies, which often lead to muscle loss as a side effect of significant weight reduction.
Hanmi unveiled its latest findings at 2024 ObesityWeek, from two preclinical studies underscoring HM17321's double-action (fat loss and lean muscle gain) benefits and a development strategy that highlights both quantitative and qualitative improvements in weight loss.
Unlike conventional incretin-based drugs, HM17321 targets the CRF2 (Corticotropin-Releasing Factor 2) receptor to selectively reduce fat while enhancing muscle mass. This unique approach sets it apart from existing therapies. Current GLP-1-based obesity medications are effective in achieving 15-20% weight loss, but up to 40% of this loss can come from muscle, accompanied by a reduction in basal metabolic rate and a high risk of rapid weight regain (the "yo-yo" effect) after discontinuation.
Hanmi reported at the conference that, in animal models, HM17321 achieved weight loss levels comparable to semaglutide, a prominent GLP-1-based therapy, but with the added benefit of increased lean body and muscle mass. This capability makes HM17321 a first-in-class drug, providing a differentiated strategy to high quality weight management by focusing on both fat loss and muscle enhancement simultaneously.
In addition to HM17321, Hanmi presented a separate study on the combined use of HM17321 with HM15275, a next-generation anti-obesity drug (LA-GLP/GIP/GCG), and semaglutide. The combination therapy demonstrated a substantial reduction in body weight and fat mass compared to monotherapies, effectively preventing the muscle loss that accompanies significant weight loss treatments.
These findings underscore HM17321's role in improving the quality of weight loss by reducing fat, increasing muscle mass, and enhancing muscle function, making it advantageous in both monotherapy and combination therapies.
Hanmi also presented follow-up nonclinical data on HM15275(LA-GLP-1/GIP/GCG), previously unveiled at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) conference. This novel anti-obesity candidate not only demonstrates potential for over 25% weight loss with minimal muscle loss but also offers therapeutic benefits for metabolic diseases. At 2024 ObesityWeek, Hanmi highlighted HM15275's mechanism of action, which facilitates favorable metabolic phenotype change and enhances energy metabolism alongside dietary control. These effects clearly highlight how HM15275 could distinguish itself from current incretin-based obesity drugs, which primarily rely on appetite suppression.
HM15275 is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials in the US, with plans to progress to Phase 2 trials by 2025, positioning it as a 'best-in-class' candidate in obesity treatment.
"HM17321 is the novel concept of obesity drug developed combining advanced artificial intelligence and structural modeling technology with Hanmi's innovative R&D expertise," said Dr In Young Choi, Head of Hanmi's R&D Center. "It selectively reduces fat while increasing muscle, establishing a new paradigm for high quality obesity treatment. The drug shows significant promise as both monotherapy and combination therapy to improve weight loss potency and quality," he added. As a peptide-based therapy, HM17321 is anticipated to provide a more cost-effective alternative to antibody-based muscle-preserving drugs, such as myostatin-targeting monoclonal antibodies, while also demonstrating enhanced compatibility with incretin-based obesity treatments.”
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