BioCentury This Week Ep. 296 - Trends in Obesity, Vinay Prasad at FDA, Ovarian Cancer Insights
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May 13, 2025 Stephen Hansen, Director of Biopharma Intelligence at BioCentury, discusses innovative obesity therapies focusing on quality weight loss that preserves lean mass. Meanwhile, Lauren Martz, Executive Director of Biopharma Intelligence, dives into the potential impacts of Vinay Prasad's leadership at the FDA, particularly on regulatory approvals for biotech investors. They also introduce insights on ovarian cancer through large-scale molecular profiling, shedding light on predictive signatures that could enhance treatment strategies.
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Quality Weight Loss Targets
- Targets like myostatin and ALK7 pathways aim to preserve or increase lean mass while selectively reducing fat mass.
- These approaches promise improved quality of weight loss but typically yield less overall weight loss than GLP-1 therapies.
Selective Therapies for Patient Subsets
- Selective fat loss therapies might suit subsets like older adults who benefit from preserving lean mass.
- These drugs could also serve as maintenance or combination therapies with incretins.
Activin Receptor 2 Programs
- Several phase 2 programs target the activin receptor 2 pathway in obesity, originally developed for rare muscle diseases.
- These include Lilly's Bimigrumab, Scholar Rock's myostatin inhibitor, and Regeneron's dual ligand blocker.