Vernalis starts obesity drug trial

Biotechnology firm Vernalis has started first stage trials of a potential obesity drug developed from the well-established fact that smoking cannabis causes hunger pangs known as "the munchie".

The drug could help those suffering from obesity by curbing their appetite but it may also be beneficial for diabetics.

In the 1980s, scientists discovered cannabinoid receptors in the brain and also in peripheral tissues involved in glucose metabolism. Working on the premise that cannabinoids - found in cannabis - stimulate the appetite, researchers have been looking at ways to block the cannabinoid receptor in the brain in order to reduce appetite. Blocking the cannabinoid receptors can also help control the metabolism of glucose.

Sam Fazeli, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, said the Berkshire-based company has "added to a pipeline that is already pretty significant, one of the best in the sector".

As it is a proven mechanism, there should be indications as early as next summer as to the potential differences with Rimonabant, a rival drug being developed by Sanofi-Aventis, which has so far shown several side effects.

Vernalis's chief executive Simon Sturge said: "The knowledge that cannabinoid antagonists reduce weight and have the capability to improve glucose control in diabetics has led to this promising new approach.

"Prevalence of obesity in the US and Europe has reached epidemic levels and there is a clear opportunity for an effective and well-tolerated anti-obesity drug."

There are currently two drugs on the market in the US that treat long-term obesity but both are limited by side-effects.

The level of obesity has tripled in the past 20 years, and is still rising. In the UK, about 22 per cent of men and 23 per cent of women are obese. Figures for children are equally alarming. In the past 10 years obesity has doubled in six-year-olds to 8.5 per cent and trebled among 15-year-olds to 15 per cent. In the US, around one-third of the adult population, approximately 60 million people, are obese. Obesity causes at least 300,000 deaths in the US each year and healthcare costs for patients amounts to $100bn.