PGE-1 to cure obesity?

2002 OCT 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Endovasc Ltd., Inc., (ENVC; ED7) announced its plans to enter the $1+ billion weight-loss drug market by developing an antiobesity nutriceutical nonprescription drug for obese diabetic women.

The drug will be based on Endovasc's Liprostin drug combined with gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) prodrug and omega-3 fatty acids in a nonprescription formulation. This nutriceutical could be useful in the treatment of diabetic obese women by balancing the prostaglandins E-1 and E-2 (PGE-1 and PGE-2).

Endovasc's Liprostin - already approved for phase III FDA human clinical trials - is the liposome encapsulation of prostaglandin E-1 (PGE-1), a naturally occurring, chemically related fatty acid, which has shown to be a potent vasodilator, platelet inhibitor and antithrombotic agent. With so much data available on PGE-1, physicians are familiar with its positive effects.

Through Endovasc's liposomal technology to increase the PGE-1 lifespan and deliver the drug to the diseased site, PGE-1 will produce the effect needed to prevent restenosis (re-blockage) of blood vessels. Liprostin will therefore positively impact many areas of treatment, such as restenosis, heart attacks, occlusive disease, ischemic ulcers, critical limb salvage, claudicants, liver, and arthritis.

"In the process of developing Liprostin, we have also found that PGE-1 might provide a much needed, natural solution for obesity. We believe that treating obesity in diabetes may be a simple matter of keeping insulin within a tight zone by countering the effects of hyperinsulemia with PGE-1," says David P. ...