Metabolic Disorders

Metabolic Disorders is 7TM Pharma’s main therapeutic focus, with the lead programs targeting obesity.

WHO’s latest projections indicate that globally in 2005 approximately 1.6 billion adults (age 15+) were overweight and at least 400 million adults were obese.
WHO further projects that by 2015, approximately 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese. At least 20 million children under the age of 5 years are overweight globally in 2005. Once considered a problem only in high-income countries, overweight and obesity are now dramatically on the rise in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines "overweight" as a BMI equal to or more than 25, and "obesity" as a BMI equal to or more than 30 (i.e. a weight of ~100 kg at a height of ~175 cm). Obesity is no longer considered just a cosmetic problem or a "life-style" disease, but recognized as a major contributor to the development of life-threatening diseases and chronic conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, certain forms of cancer, and osteoarthritis, causing substantial morbidity and mortality and vast costs for the healthcare system. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, only tobacco surpasses obesity as cause of preventable death. The cost to treat obesity and its complications has increased steeply and is currently estimated with approximately USD 100 billion in the US. Also the prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents is dramatically increasing (close to 15% of this age group in the US were overweight in 1999), accompanied by a surge of type 2 diabetes - a condition rarely seen in this age group in the past (WHO).

Despite the magnitude of the problem and the socioeconomic benefits of its management, anti-obesity therapies on the market and in development are scarce; the pipelines for drugs in later stage development are quite empty and existing treatments are marginally effective and poorly tolerated. Given these limitations, the opportunities in the anti-obesity market are immense (projected with US$ 2.5-3.7 billion between 2008 and 2012, with peak projections up to US$ 13 billion by 2013) with a big need and prospect for an efficacious and safe drug for sustainable weight loss in adults and children.

The continued identification of novel 7TM receptors involved in the energy homeostasis has generated novel potential targets useful for the development of drugs for treatment of obesity and related disorders.

Sources:

WHO (www.who.int)
American Obesity Association (www.obesity.org)
Scrip 2005
Lehmann 2004