Adipopharma’s First-in-class Candidate – PATAS – Shows Improvement in Whole-body Insulin Resistance and Associated Comorbidities in Vivo

AdipoPharma, formerly ALMS Therapeutics SAS, a biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative peptide-based approaches to treating metabolic diseases, in particular insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, today announces the publication of preclinical efficacy results in the upcoming September issue of the Diabetes Journal, published by the American Diabetes Association. The results show that PATAS (Peptide-mimic of PKC Alpha Targeting ALMS), AdipoPharma’s first-in-class drug candidate, improves whole-body insulin resistance and associated comorbidities in vivo.

PATAS is a well-tolerated stapled peptide with potential to be the first of a new class of drug named ‘Adipeutics’ – therapeutics that specifically target adipocytes. PATAS targets a root cause of type 2 diabetes and related complications, namely insulin resistance. It restores the adipose tissue physiology, normalizing the natural role of adipocytes to provide healthy lipids throughout the body. Additionally, PATAS lowers unhealthy ceramides, the leading cause of cardiovascular dysfunction in diabetes. AdipoPharma aims to fill a gap in the anti-diabetic drugs arena, as no drug on the market directly targets insulin resistance.

“It has been over a decade since the approval of the last innovative treatment for type 2 diabetes. Today, there is no product on the market directly targeting insulin resistance,” said Dr Vincent Marion, president and CEO of AdipoPharma. “PATAS is set to become a disruptor; by being the first drug to restore the metabolic fitness of the adipose tissue, treat insulin resistance and, at the same time, provide cardiovascular benefits.”

“This news is extremely positive for accelerating PATAS’ clinical development towards bringing the first anti-diabetic drug that will have treatment of insulin resistance as its core labelling claim, medically assisting those in need,” said James Nolan, chairman of the board and business development officer at AdipoPharma. “I congratulate Dr Marion and his talented team of scientists for their dedication and hard work in the development of PATAS.”

Type 2 diabetes is a global health issue spiraling out of control; with 1 in 10 adults living with diabetes. Currently, diabetes therapies are focused on treating symptoms rather than its root cause – insulin resistance.

“Faced with the diabetes epidemic, we need to work on treatments that target the root causes and not just the symptoms,” said Pr Alan Cherrington, former president of the American Diabetes Association and professor at the Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, USA. “AdipoPharma is following an interesting novel biological lead with PATAS, which could become a key treatment to deal with insulin resistance.”

AdipoPharma is finalizing the preclinical work needed to enter Phase I clinical studies, planned for 2023, leading to a full Phase II/III clinical program to bring PATAS to market as quickly as possible.