TNF Pharmaceuticals has initiated the first in a series of studies to evaluate the impact of its novel oral TNF-alpha (TNF-α) inhibitor drug, isomyosamine, in preserving lean muscle mass during and after GLP-1 treatment for weight loss and chronic weight management.
Isomyosamine is a novel plant alkaloid small molecule shown to regulate the immuno-metabolic system through the modulation of numerous pro-inflammatory cytokines including TNF-alpha (TNF-α), an immune cell signalling protein and inflammatory cytokine responsible for inducing and maintaining the inflammatory process. TNF-α is located upstream of a cascade of molecular signals that induces inflammation and helps activate the process of aging. Many in vivo and in vitro studies have shown that TNF-α plays a causative role in the pathogenesis of various age-related diseases.
“The body of evidence for the GLP-1 drug class shows that up to 40% of total weight loss in GLP-1 patients is lean body mass including skeletal muscle mass,” said Dr Mitchell Glass, President and Chief Medical Officer of TNF. “The purpose of our clinical study series is to assess isomyosamine’s potential to preserve lean muscle mass during and following GLP-1 weight loss in chronic overweight and obese patients of all age groups.”
The first study examines TNF-α levels in patients receiving the GLP-1 agonist Wegovy or Ozempic who show signs of increased inflammation associated with sarcopenia, which is the progressive loss of muscle mass. Isomyosamine targets excess pro-inflammatory TNF-alpha, a primary cause of sarcopenia.
“Findings from the initial observational study will inform our forward move into multiple planned clinical studies designed to evaluate isomyosamine’s effects in our target population of GLP-1 patients,” Glass continued. “Our collaboration partner, Renova Health, is using its proprietary AI and machine learning technology to analyse and identify optimal patient pools and study sites, enabling an efficient progression of our study series over the coming months.”
Comments