Meng Deng, an associate professor in Purdue University’s colleges of Agriculture and Engineering, is founder of Adipo Therapeutics LLC. The biopharmaceutical company presented data about its active ingredient and lead product at the annual meeting of The Obesity Society. (The ESC Plan photo/Charles Jischke)

INDIANAPOLIS — Adipo Therapeutics LLC, a late-stage, preclinical biopharmaceutical company developing a potential treatment for obesity and related metabolic disorders, presented data from two studies at the annual meeting of The Obesity Society in San Antonio.

The studies were designed to evaluate the impact of Adipo’s active ingredient ADPO-002 on key browning markers for mitochondrial biogenesis, mitochondrial activation and adipocyte browning in human fat cells and fat tissues.

The increases in PGC1⍺, PRDM16 and Uncoupling Protein 1 (UCP1) in these studies support ADPO-002’s mechanism of action for mitochondrial biogenesis, activation and browning of human white adipose tissue, and the potential for the translation of Adipo’s treatment to humans.

Why brown adipose tissue matters

Obesity is a significant public health crisis. According to the National Institutes of Health, by 2030 nearly half of U.S. adults will be obese. People who are overweight or are affected by obesity are at increased risk for many serious diseases and health conditions including Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver and gallbladder diseases, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular diseases, sleep apnea, breathing disorders, osteoarthritis, mental illness, and some cancers.

Excess energy-storing white adipose tissue is associated with obesity, Type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease whereas energy-burning brown adipose tissue plays a beneficial role in overall metabolic health. Brown adipose tissue has a high number of mitochondria, increases energy expenditure, and is associated with improved insulin sensitivity and decreased risks for Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to a 2021 published article in Nature Medicine titled “Brown adipose tissue is associated with cardiometabolic health.”

Adipo’s lead product ADPO-002NP has a unique mechanism of action that has the potential to be a stand-alone treatment or a complementary product to existing weight loss and diabetes drugs given its ability to increase energy expenditure and improve insulin resistance by browning white adipose tissue.

“While weight loss can be achieved through decreasing calorie intake and/or increasing energy expenditure, the newer therapies on the market are focused primarily on appetite suppression to reduce a person’s daily caloric intake,” said Adipo CEO Karen Wurster. “There is a need for new weight-loss products that work by increasing energy expenditure without requiring calorie restriction. Adipo’s treatment has the potential to increase energy expenditure by creating healthier, energy-burning, metabolically beneficial subcutaneous fat.”

Results of the studies

The first study examined the effect of ADPO-002 and ADPO-002NP on differentiated human white adipocytes obtained from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in collaboration with Shihuan Kuang, who was previously a professor and researcher at Purdue. The study demonstrated a significant increase in PGC1⍺ and inhibition of Notch target gene Hes1.

The second study examined the effect of ADPO-002 on subcutaneous and omental adipose tissue explants obtained from bariatric surgery patients who provided consent. The human adipose tissue explants study was conducted by Adipo Therapeutics in collaboration with Robert Considine, professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis and Ascension St. Vincent Hospital Carmel. It demonstrated a significant increase in critical browning marker genes PGC1⍺ and PRDM16 following seven days of treatment. It also showed an upregulation of UCP1, a key regulator of thermogenesis in both subcutaneous and omental tissue following treatment.

The changes observed in these studies support Adipo’s mechanism of action for mitochondrial biogenesis and browning of human white adipose tissue.

“Inhibition of Notch signaling has been shown to promote adipocyte browning in our previous animal studies. Our findings from these studies with human adipocytes and adipose tissue explants provide important encouraging evidence for the translational potential of this novel mechanism of action,” said Adipo founder Meng Deng, associate professor in Purdue University’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and School of Materials Engineering.

Deng disclosed his research to the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization, which applied for patents to protect the intellectual property. It licensed the technology to Adipo for development and commercialization.

Adipo is currently raising $8 million in additional funding to move this breakthrough product to first-in-human Phase I clinical trials, which are designed to demonstrate safety and clinical proof of concept in people. The capital will enable the team to continue its efficient execution to advance ADPO-002NP including good manufacturing practices, preclinical toxicology studies and regulatory approval to begin the Phase I clinical development.

About Adipo Therapeutics LLC

Adipo Therapeutics is a privately held, late-stage, preclinical biopharmaceutical company developing a first-in-class, breakthrough approach to treat the obesity epidemic and related metabolic disorders. Adipo’s lead asset (ADPO-002NP) combines a Notch inhibitor with novel poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticle technology. ADPO-002NP is being developed as a once-weekly treatment to increase mitochondrial biogenesis and energy expenditure through the browning of energy-storing white fat to energy-burning beige fat. Studies in animals have shown that when treated weekly with the active ingredient, local fat browning leads to systemic effects including weight loss, improved blood glucose control and a decrease in lipids with no change in calorie intake. Human adipose tissue ex vivo explants study results demonstrate that ADPO-002 promotes the expression of two key browning biomarkers and provides strong evidence that Notch inhibition, as a novel browning mechanism, translates to human adipose tissue. To learn more about the company and its technology, please visit www.adipotherapeutics.com.

About Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university’s academic activities through commercializing, licensing and protecting Purdue intellectual property. In fiscal year 2024, the office reported 145 deals finalized with 224 technologies signed, 466 invention disclosures received, and 290 U.S. and international patents received. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Contact otcip@prf.org for more information.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at