Abstract

The global prevalence of Type 2 diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate. This escalation is driven in large part by increased body weight as societies adopt a “Western” lifestyle. Current anti-diabetic medicines have little or no effect to reduce excess body weight. MEDI0382 is a molecule conceived of in an attempt to generate a novel drug for Type 2 diabetes that would deliver both effective glucose control and significant weight loss. This molecule is a dual agonist peptide that activates both the glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP1) receptor and the glucagon receptor (GCG), thereby combining their complementary pharmacological effects to lower blood glucose, suppress food intake and increase energy expenditure. The story of the research that led to the discovery of MEDI0382 and its characterisation in preclinical models will be presented.