Revised: Challenging the Norm May Lead to New Therapy for Type ...( GRAND RAPIDS Mich. March 24 /- Wh...),Health

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- What happens when leading biochemists get together to challenge conventional pharmaceutical theories? Often, incredible new drug therapies are born. Recently, this same scenario began when two former major pharma scientists challenged the concept behind the leading treatments for type 2 diabetes, a disease that impacts millions of Americans. They saw the side effects caused by the current therapy like edema and weight gain, and went to work on a hypothesis that the current receptor was leading to these side effects associated with PPAR-based therapies.

As non-conventional as the theory was, it's working. Drs. Jerry Colca and Rolf Kletzien, co-founders of Kalamazoo, Michigan-based Metabolic Solutions Development Company (MSDC), have completed Phase I clinical studies and just received second phase funding from a Michigan-based science fund. They have applied for an FDA fast-track review of their work.

"We are pleased that our lead compound performed so well in Phase I studies," said Colca, MSDC's chief scientific officer. "Pre-clinical studies suggest that this compound can deliver significant pharmacological benefit without the complications inherent in current PPAR-based therapies."