THE WOODLANDS, Texas, Sept. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lexicon Genetics Incorporated (Nasdaq: LEXG - News) announced today that the Company has begun screening for small molecule drugs against LG653, an enzyme that plays an important role in regulating the amount of body fat. Lexicon scientists discovered that when LG653 was knocked out, mice were significantly leaner with a 30% to 44% reduction in body fat, despite consuming 19% more food. Importantly, the mice had normal muscle mass, lean body mass and bone mineral density and displayed no adverse side effects. Therapeutics inhibiting LG653 could have significant potential for treating obesity and might also have an impact in associated diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
"An ideal therapeutic for obesity would allow one to lose fat without altering diet," said Arthur T. Sands, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Lexicon. "We believe the ability to reduce fat without curbing appetite or incurring undesirable side effects would have a tremendous impact in the treatment of obesity and related diseases. These are key criteria for our work as we advance LG653 to the lead compound stage."
The physiological role of LG653 was uncovered through the Company's industrialized gene knockout program, in which mice lacking specific genes are associated with desirable medical profiles. Lexicon researchers compared mice that had LG653 "knocked out" to normal controls. Mice lacking LG653 appeared normal and displayed no harmful side effects, indicating that the effects of LG653 inhibition are restricted to lowering body fat, while not affecting other aspects of physiology.
In June 2002, Lexicon announced the discovery of another anti-obesity target, LG747, a novel receptor in the G-protein coupled receptor family. Lexicon believes both targets represent entirely new approaches to the potential treatment of obesity. With these two targets, Lexicon's obesity program includes drug discovery programs directed towards the development of therapeutics both to activate anti-obesity control mechanisms and to block an enzymatic step in the deposition of body fat. With the initiation of screening against LG653, Lexicon now has advanced its anti-obesity program into small molecule discovery. |
