fat chance

Drug's fat chance

METABOLIC Pharmaceuticals' dreams crashed three years ago, when it terminated development of anti-obesity drug AOD9604 after spending around $60 million on development. At its peak, Metabolic (recently renamed Calzada) was capitalised at $500 million.

The company abandoned its weight-loss tablet after failing to establish efficacy in a large clinical trial. However, former Metabolic investors still lamenting lost fortunes may be interested by anecdotal evidence that they were let down not by the drug's lack of potential but by a management decision to focus exclusively on oral delivery in the belief that this was the only blockbuster market.

It seems increasing numbers of body builders are turning to blackmarket AOD9604, attracted by its fat-busting capabilities when injected directly into the abdomen. The Chinese-made knock-off almost certainly breaches Metabolic's patents but is doing brisk trade due to its reputation for moving stubborn belly fat.

Biochemists are unsurprised that bodybuilders are achieving results where Metabolic's clinical studies failed. When taken as a tablet the AOD9604 peptide, like all peptides, is prone to being broken down in the stomach and intestine before it can be absorbed into the bloodstream.

News of results achieved by bodybuilders comes after a recent announcement from Calzada that, after three years of inaction, it would once again be dedicating resources to generating value from the AOD9604 patents.

Calzada has around $11 million in the bank and trades at around cash backing. It may be a long-shot from here, but new management's challenge is to efficiently gather data on the efficacy of injectable AOD9604 before pursuing a licensing deal with a major pharmaceutical company.

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