Glaceum

SCIENCE

Metabolic Disease

Obesity

Metabolic diseases such as obesity, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and type 2 diabetes (T2D) are caused by the metabolic dysfunction within the body. Glaceum’s compounds restore the damaged energy metabolism by improving mitochondrial function.

Billion
Billion

Worldwide Obesity
[WHO, Obesity and overweight, 2021]

Obesity occurs when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure. Currently existing anti-obesity drugs act by reducing energy intake via direct appetite control; the downside of this mechanism is the apparent side effects on the nervous system and the weight recycling (yo-yo) effect when the drug administration is discontinued. Glaceum is developing HSG4112 as an anti-obesity drug that improves mitochondrial function via PON2, thus increasing energy expenditure and basal metabolic rate, and ultimately putting an end to the weight recycling (yo-yo) phenomenon.

NASH

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a disease that is heavily driven by excess weight, hyperglycemia, and various other factors such as genetics. NASH develops rapidly and can lead to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). An ideal treatment must remove excess fat from the liver and reduce inflammation. HSG4112 treats NASH by removing fat – through increased energy consumption – and reducing free radical production in mitochondria, thereby alleviating inflammation.

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by insulin and leptin resistance and dysfunctional energy metabolism, induced by inflammation in various tissues: liver, pancreas, fat, muscle, and brain. It is also a confounding risk factor for various metabolic diseases such as obesity and steatohepatitis. Current treatments are not ameliorating this inflammation, and are limited to indirect alleviation – dietary restriction, injection of insulin, etc. – which have a major disadvantage of chronically administering drugs and inducing drug resistance. HGR4113 can be a fundamental treatment that reduces inflammatory factors in the whole body via PON proteins, normalizing energy metabolism and blood glucose and providing protective effect to beta cells in the pancreas.