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Altarejos JY, Pangilinan J, Podgrabinska S, Akinci B, Foss-Freitas M, Neidert AH, Ray Y, Zheng W, Kim S, Kamat V, Huang M, Min S, Mastaitis J, Dominguez-Gutierrez G, Kim JH, Stevis P, Huang T, Zambrowicz B, Olson WC, Godin S, Bradley E, Gewitz AD, Baker M, Hench R, Davenport MS, Chenevert TL, DiPaola F, Yancopoulos GD, Murphy AJ, Herman GA, Musser BJ, Dansky H, Harp J, Gromada J, Sleeman MW, Oral EA, Olenchock BA. Preclinical, randomized phase 1, and compassionate use evaluation of REGN4461, a leptin receptor agonist antibody for leptin deficiency. Sci Transl Med 2023; 15:eadd4897. [PMID: 37992152 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.add4897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
Deficiency in the adipose-derived hormone leptin or leptin receptor signaling causes class 3 obesity in individuals with genetic loss-of-function mutations in leptin or its receptor LEPR and metabolic and liver disease in individuals with hypoleptinemia secondary to lipoatrophy such as in individuals with generalized lipodystrophy. Therapies that restore leptin-LEPR signaling may resolve these metabolic sequelae. We developed a fully human monoclonal antibody (mAb), REGN4461 (mibavademab), that activates the human LEPR in the absence or presence of leptin. In obese leptin knockout mice, REGN4461 normalized body weight, food intake, blood glucose, and insulin sensitivity. In a mouse model of generalized lipodystrophy, REGN4461 alleviated hyperphagia, hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hepatic steatosis. In a phase 1, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled two-part study, REGN4461 was well tolerated with an acceptable safety profile. Treatment of individuals with overweight or obesity with REGN4461 decreased body weight over 12 weeks in those with low circulating leptin concentrations (<8 ng/ml) but had no effect on body weight in individuals with higher baseline leptin. Furthermore, compassionate-use treatment of a single patient with atypical partial lipodystrophy and a history of undetectable leptin concentrations associated with neutralizing antibodies to metreleptin was associated with noteable improvements in circulating triglycerides and hepatic steatosis. Collectively, these translational data unveil an agonist LEPR mAb that may provide clinical benefit in disorders associated with relatively low leptin concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Y Altarejos
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Jeffrey Pangilinan
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Simona Podgrabinska
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Baris Akinci
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, 35340 Izmir, Turkey
| | - Maria Foss-Freitas
- Brehm Center for Diabetes Research, Caswell Diabetes Institute, and Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Adam H Neidert
- Brehm Center for Diabetes Research, Caswell Diabetes Institute, and Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Yonaton Ray
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Wenjun Zheng
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Steven Kim
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Vishal Kamat
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Meilin Huang
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Soo Min
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Jason Mastaitis
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | | | - Jee-Hae Kim
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Panayiotis Stevis
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Tammy Huang
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Brian Zambrowicz
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - William C Olson
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Stephen Godin
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Elizabeth Bradley
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Andrew D Gewitz
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Mark Baker
- Brehm Center for Diabetes Research, Caswell Diabetes Institute, and Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Rita Hench
- Brehm Center for Diabetes Research, Caswell Diabetes Institute, and Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Matthew S Davenport
- Department of Radiology, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Thomas L Chenevert
- Department of Radiology, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Frank DiPaola
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | - George D Yancopoulos
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Andrew J Murphy
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Gary A Herman
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Bret J Musser
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Hayes Dansky
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Joyce Harp
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Jesper Gromada
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Mark W Sleeman
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
| | - Elif A Oral
- Brehm Center for Diabetes Research, Caswell Diabetes Institute, and Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Benjamin A Olenchock
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
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