ORZILOBEN

DR ANTHONY MELVIN CRASTO Ph.D

February 1

ORZILOBEN,

CAS 1555822-28-0

2-methyl-3-(pentyloxy)benzoic acid

Molecular Weight	222.28
Formula	C₁₃H₁₈O₃

Orziloben is a medium chain fatty acid (MCFA) analogue^[1].

Patent

WO2020074964

https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2020074964&_cid=P12-LQYZJX-26404-1

The rising global epidemic of obesity and its comorbidities, e.g., type 2 diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia, is placing an enormous burden both on public health (mortality and morbidity) and on the available public health resources required to treat these conditions.

Current drugs that treat hyperlipidemia (e.g., statins, omega-3 fatty acids, fibrates) have mostly neutral effects on glycemic control, whilst drugs targeting glycemic control e.g., insulin, thiazolidinediones (TZDs), have adverse effects upon bodyweight and (for TZDs) other unwanted side-effects restricting their use.

In addition to hyperlipidemia and type 2 diabetes, a marked increase in the prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has occurred. NAFLD has become the most common chronic liver condition in Western populations in relation to the obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemics. The prevalence of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a form of NAFLD that is associated with hepatic inflammation and ballooning of hepatocytes, is expected to increase by 63% between 2015 and 2030 in the United States (Estes, Hepatology, 2018; 67(1): 123-133), where NASH is expected to become the leading cause of liver transplantation by 2020. As liver fibrosis, but not inflammation, is associated with mortality and morbidity in NASH patients, drugs which prevent progression/induce regression of fibrosis are also a focus of biomedical research.

The development of novel compounds that simultaneously target both hyperlipidemia and glycemic control, without the adverse side-effects (e.g., weight gain) typically associated with insulin sensitising drugs is thus a desirable goal. Such compounds would be even more attractive if they could additionally prevent the progression/reverse hepatic fibrosis and reduce hepatic steatosis. The present invention addresses these needs for new treatment methods, compounds, and pharmaceutical compositions.