
Artificial intelligence in the development of drugs for the treatment of obesity
Eli Lilly, with the participation of biotechnology company Fauna Bio, will develop a new drug for the treatment of obesity. Fauna Bio has an artificial intelligence (AI) platform whose database contains information about the genes of mammals that gain weight before hibernation. Their study will allow us to understand the mechanism of the development of obesity in humans. In total, the Fauna Bio database contains information on the genes of 452 mammal species, 65 of which hibernate.
The company bases its biobank on 22 tissue types from the thirteen-lined ground squirrel (spermophilus tridecemlineatus) taken during its hibernation, resulting in more than 22 billion DNA sequence reads. The weight of these animals doubles due to the accumulation of fat during the summer. Despite this high increase in body fat levels before hibernation, they remain insulin resistant and do not develop hypertension or diabetes.
It is believed that ground squirrels and other hibernating animals have an internal metabolic switch that allows them to control obesity and lose weight in the spring without losing skeletal muscle. The Fauna platform will analyze animal genes to identify the mechanism behind the development of obesity in humans and develop a drug based on this.
Eli Lilly's portfolio includes drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus - Trulicity (dulaglutide) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide).
The company also received FDA approval this year for its obesity drug Zepbound (tirzepatide). The drug is intended for patients over the age of 18 years who are obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2), overweight (BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2) or pathologies associated with excess weight, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus type, obstructive apnea, as well as cardiovascular diseases.
The main active component of Zepbound is tirzepatide, which belongs to a new class of drugs known as glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. They are used to treat diabetes and obesity.
GLP-1 agonist drugs are also present in Novo Nordisk's portfolio (Wegovy (semaglutide), but Wegovy is inferior to Zepbound in terms of the cost of a monthly course of treatment.