Millions of people the world over suffer today
from obesity, yet there is no "magic bullet" that
has yet provided a universally accepted solution.
However, a young researcher at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem feels he has come up with
a practical weight loss solution for the obese
person without his having to feel hungry.
For this development, Yaniv Linde, a 32-year-old
Ph.D. holder has been named a first place winner
of a Kaye Innovation Award.
Linde and his associates have developed a
compound that mimics the activity of the
naturally occurring hormone called aMSH. This
hormone is naturally excreted during eating and
binds to a receptor in the brain called MC4R.
When this "communication" occurs on a substantial
level, the brain sends out a signal that one
feels "full."
The young Hebrew university researchers developed
a novel method for synthesizing a peptide (a
peptide is a compound linking two or more amino
acids) which can serve as an analog to the
naturally occurring aMSH hormone. They were able
to demonstrate that their peptide, which they
call BL-3020, displayed good metabolic stability
to intestinal enzymes when swallowed, and that it
was able to cross the intestinal wall and gain
access into the blood stream. Once in the blood,
it could make its way to the MC4R receptor and
"close the circuit" to send out the "full" signal.
The result is that a person seriously wishing to
overcome obesity could take this compound orally
in order to curb his appetite, thus leading to
natural weight loss. In experiments with mice, it
was shown that a single oral administration of
BL-3020 led to reduced consumption over a period
of 24 hours. Over a 12-day period of daily
dosages, the mice weighed 40 percent less than
the average for mice of their size and age who
were not being given the compound.
The peptide has been patented in Europe and the
U.S., and a commercial firm, Bioline RX Ltd. of
Jerusalem has purchased development rights from
Yissum, the Hebrew University's technology
transfer company, and is currently working
towards creating a commercial anti-obesity drug.