Russian and US scientists launch type 2 diabetes drug program

Russian and US researchers have launched a joint project aimed at developing an innovation drug candidate to fight type 2 diabetes, the website of Russia’s ChemRar biotech research company announced earlier this week.

 

A joint R&D agreement has been signed by ChemRar (located in Khimki just outside Moscow), SatRx (a three-year-old ChemRar subsidiary), the Severny biopharma cluster just outside Moscow led by the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), ChemRar’s Research Institute for Chemical Diversity, and the University of California in San Diego. 

The partnership calls for access to specific pharmacological models held by the University of California in San Diego and joint translational research with a goal of perfecting innovation TGR-5 non-systemic receptor agonists developed by scientists at MIPT, SatRx and the Institute for Chemical Diversity in Russia. 

At the moment, the TGR-5 research program is in its preclinical trial phase. Following clinical trial testing, commercial introduction of the new agonists is envisioned in both Russian and international markets. 

The TGR-5 receptors play a key role in boosting hormonal secretion, which results in an increase in insulin secretion and helps normalize glucose levels and other vital biochemical indicators in blood. With the new drug the developers expect a benign therapeutic effect in type 2 diabetes patients with a reduced risk of developing side effects.