Genset shares up 17.5% on preclinical testing of obesity drug Famoxin

Trading in the stock of the French biotechnology company Genset wasbriefly suspended because of a flood of buyers this past week in the wake of the company's announcement of the conclusion of preclinical trials of its anti-obesity protein Famoxin (gAcrp30). The firm's share price moved up 17.5% to 59 euros ($55.39) on the day the news was announced.

Famoxin is a recombinant protein, based on the natural protein ACRP 30, which was discovered by a team of Genset researchers to act on a gene which triggers a mechanism to eliminate fats in the body. The concept behind the mechanism has now been tested successfully in trials on obese mice, and the findings have been published in the on-line edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (www.pnas.org).

Commenting on the preclinical findings, lead investigator Harvey Lodish of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in the USA said that "the preclinical data demonstrate that Famoxin exhibits potent and novel pharmacological properties for regulation of body weight and lipid metabolism." Unlike drugs that primarily work through activation of the central nervous system, he added, Famoxin seems to exert its effects at the peripheral level, stimulating muscle oxidation of free fatty acids and clearing them from the blood. "This increase in oxidation of FFA may account for the loss in weight," he suggested.