JCR Starts Trials Of Acromegaly Drug

Japan's JCR Pharmaceuticals has begun full development of a novel substance, called mutant growth hormone, as a treatment for acromegaly, a rare disease characterized externally by abnormal enlargement of the skull, jaw, hands and feet.

Acromegaly is caused by excessive secretion of growth hormone from the anterior pituitary gland, and is often the result of a benign pituitary tumor. Current treatment involves removal of the tumor by surgery or with radiotherapy, or pharmacological intervention with octreotide (which prevents the production of growth hormone) or bromocriptine, which can sometimes shrink the tumor.

High-Affinity Antagonist JCR's mutant GH was originally discovered by scientists at Kobe University School of Medicine in Japan. The compound is produced from a mutant growth hormone gene isolated from a child with severe growth retardation. The gene product has a remarkable high affinity for the GH receptor - some six times more than normal GH - but acts as a potent antagonist rather than an agonist.