Connecticut Pharmaceutical Company Developing Oral Treatment For Type 2 Diabetes; Clinical Studies Start Next Year

Millions of Americans suffer from type 2 diabetes, which is the most common incarnation of the disease. While basic treatments for type 2 diabetes include meal planning, exercise and weight loss, more advanced treatments include regularly injecting insulin and using an insulin pump, which delivers insulin periodically via a catheter.

The goal with all of these treatments is to help regulate the body’s blood-glucose levels. Type 2 diabetes disrupts the body’s production — or absorption — of the natural hormone insulin, which is usually responsible for maintaining blood-glucose levels and preventing potentially lethal spikes. But instead of relying on uncomfortable and painful invasive treatments, imagine if a diabetes sufferer could simply pop a pill to control blood-glucose?

One company in Southport, Connecticut is on its way to making that dream a reality. Thetis Pharmaceuticals LLC has a new oral medication in the works, which, in addition to regulating blood-glucose, may help decrease the high incidences of cardiovascular complications that are associated with type 2 diabetes.

Dubbed “TP101,” the medication consists of two key chemicals: a molecular compound found in omega-3 fatty acids, which are the same fatty acids you find in your salmon, and metformin, which is a chemical used regularly in type 2 diabetes medications. Clinical testing of TP101 is set to start in 2012.

With the diabetes treatment market poised to reach $490 billion by 2030, making it the fastest growing market in the pharmaceutical industry, Thetis Pharmaceuticals could stand to rake in considerable profits with TP101. The company recently brought in $1.5 million in financing from Connecticut Innovations, Stonehenge Partners and angel investors.

Co-founder, president and chief scientific officer at Thetis Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Frank Sciavolino, stated in a recent press release, “TP101 represents an important contribution to diabetes therapy, offering physicians the prospect of a new, first-line, oral treatment for diabetic patients with the potential to regulate blood glucose and slow the incidence of cardiovascular events.” He went on to comment that “TP101 also offers a safe and effective approach to treating the rapidly escalating pre-diabetes population.”

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Posted by erik devaney on Aug 24 2011. Filed under Business, General, Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry