A new breakthrough for Obecure, from the Bio-Light group: the company's scientists, who are developing a weight management drug to treat obesity, have now identified a new molecule which increases the desire and need for food, in laboratory animals.

The new discovery will enable the company to enter a new market of appetite-stimulating pharmaceuticals, which are primarily designed for patients who are underweight as a result of cancer treatments, chronic illnesses, and for the elderly.

This is a new direction for the company -- the focus of Obecure until now has been solely on developing drugs to suppress appetite as a catalyst for weight reduction.

But now Obecure's scientists discovered that an analogue of the drug it is targeting for treating obesity has the opposite activity and increases the desire for food in laboratory animals. The influence of the new compound on inducing appetite and increasing food consumption has been repeated in a number of experiments.

Obecure has exclusive license for the development and marketing of its discovery with a patent request pending under the auspices of Mor Research Applications, Ltd. The company is preparing to begin pre-clinical development of a new appetite-stimulating drug.

“This new discovery has great importance for Obecure,” said
Dr. Yaffa Beck, CEO of Obecure. “It opens up a new market with tremendous potential. The market for appetite stimulants is estimated at $400 million annually, and it is based on cancer patients, primarily those who are undergoing chemotherapy, AIDS patients, patients suffering from chronic disease, the elderly, and other underweight populations. While we develop this new direction, we are continuing to move forward with the development of our drug for weight loss. Obecure is expanding the number of products it is developing, and establishing its position as a company developing “weight management” products.

In light of the new discovery, Obecure now has three lines of products in development: two treatments for obesity, one which is about to begin Phase 2 clinical trials with obese patients and one aimed at patients who are taking anti-psychotic drugs, in the U.S. and in Canada, and now the appetite stimulant which is based on its latest discovery.