Roche finds active glucose control

A primary driver in the search for new pharmacological targets for diabetes is the goal of providing patients with better control over their glucose levels. Roche now reports that a small molecule activator targeting glucokinase, an enzyme believed to be important in regulating glucose homeostasis, has shown better efficacy than existing drugs in reducing blood glucose in vivo. The company believes that the compound - which has a dual mechanism of action - may provide finer glucose control than existing treatments that act only by promoting insulin secretion from the pancreas.

Writing in Science, scientists from Roche (SWX:ROCZ, Basel, Switzerland) last week showed that in rodent cells, an activator of glucokinase (GK) augmented both glucose metabolism in the liver and glucose-induced insulin secretion from pancreatic islet cells. The compound, RO-28-1675, increased the enzymatic activity of GK in a dose-dependent manner and reduced the threshold concentration of glucose required to induce insulin release from islets...