Azelaprag (BGE-105)
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Apelin receptor APJ agonist
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Lead indication: obesity
Azelaprag is an apelin receptor APJ agonist that increases weight loss and improves body composition in combination with incretin drugs.
Azelaprag mimics the activity of the exerkine apelin, a peptide that is released in response to exercise.
Preclinical results
Azelaprag increases overall weight loss and improves body composition co-administered with incretins:
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2x weight loss vs. incretin alone
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Restores body composition and function to that of lean controls
Clinical results
Azelaprag demonstrated significant muscle and metabolic benefits in our Ph1b study of older subjects at bedrest:
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Promotion of energy expenditure & muscle metabolism
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Prevention of muscle atrophy
Azelaprag has been very well tolerated in 240+ individuals across multiple clinical studies
Azelaprag for the treatment of obesity
Our goal is to increase overall weight loss and improve quality of weight loss vs. incretin drugs alone.
Target value propositions
Primary endpoint:
Increased weight loss vs. incretin drug alone
Upside includes improvements in:
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Body composition & function
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Glucose control
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Tolerability
Incretin drugs have recently been approved to treat obesity and result in significant weight loss
However, performance of oral incretins remains a key unmet need: despite a strong patient preference, efficacy lags injectables
Azelaprag in combination with an incretin drug has the potential for best-in-class oral performance: 20%+ total weight loss at 1 year is our goal
