Albany Medical College enters agreement with Aegis

"Albany Medical College has entered into an agreement with Aegis Therapeutics LLC that could speed the development and commercialization of an anti-obesity peptide that could also benefit people with Type 2 diabetes.

The pact authorizes San Diego-based Aegis to develop a partnership with a pharmaceutical company, with the goal of beginning human clinical trials of the OB-3 peptide. The peptide was discovered by researchers at the Albany, N.Y., medical college.

If successful, the trials could result in the new drug becoming commercially available.

Dr. Patricia Grasso, associate professor of medicine at Albany Med, said the school’s researchers have developed a synthetic fragment of leptin, a protein hormone, that decreases appetite and increases metabolism. This has resulted in significant weight loss and lower blood glucose levels in the mice and rats.

'Now we hope to demonstrate that the OB-3 peptide can be similarly effective in humans,' she said."