IU researching dream weight loss drug

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Imagine a weight loss drug that is as effective as gastric bypass surgery. Seems like a dream for the millions of Americans who want to lose weight. But it may be closer to reality than you think.

Indiana University biochemistry researchers are leading the way.

The Hoosier state is the 9th fattest state in the nation. The CDC reports 62% of Hoosiers are considered overweight or obese.

"Obesity is a global epidemic so the interest in these results that were published in nature chemical biology coming from all corners of the world, Japan, Germany, the UK and certainly here in Indiana," said IU Biochemistry Professor Richard DiMarchi.

Professor DiMarchi is the lead researcher for a new drug candidate that suppresses appetite and increases calorie burn. So far, it's only been tested in mice.

"These are mice and rats that are overfed so that their body weight is about twice what their normal body weight should be," said DiMarchi.

While the biochemistry is done on IU's campus in Bloomington the testing of the chemical compound is done at the Univ. of Cincinnati that's where they saw the results in the mice.

Researchers injected the obese mice with the drug candidate. In a single dose the mice lost 25% of their weight. And after one month of treatment, the mice were back to their ideal weight.

DiMarchi said, "I don't expect for a minute that humans are going to lose 25% body weight loss in a week in fact I don't believe that that would be safe for a human."

However, DiMarchi said the drug candidate has the potential to achieve weight loss results similar to those currently achieved only by gastric bypass surgery.

So the next step is to test it in humans. IU has a licensing agreement with Marcadia, an Indiana Biotech firm that's working with Merck to eventually start human trials. But this won't be an FDA approved drug for about 10 years.