CHDR provides the ideal setting for metabolic disease drug research. Drawing on a wealth of experience, we are well-placed to develop compounds not only for common conditions, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and osteoporosis, but also for less frequent conditions, such as thyroid disorders and growth hormone deficiency.

Metabolic challenges at CHDR

The possibility to assess potential therapeutic efficacy at an early stage greatly facilitates rational development of new metabolic compounds. However, estimation of therapeutic efficacy of new metabolic drugs during early clinical drug development is challenging and often only possible in phase 2, when the drug is administered for the first time to the relevant patient population.

In overcoming this challenge, CHDR has successfully validated and applied multiple metabolic challenges in clinical studies, varying from relatively simple oral challenges to complex hormone clamp studies. Implementation of these metabolic challenges in a compound’s clinical development programme enables efficient bridging between preclinical experiments and early clinical development stages, including the first administration to the relevant patient population.

Metabolic challenges 

Assessment of intervention effect

CHDR has experience with several metabolic interventions, including:

  • Meal replacement therapies
  • Glucagon receptor inhibitors
  • Glucose transporter modulators

Characterisation of populations

CHDR has performed several studies to characterise different populations. Such studies include:

  • The glucagon challenge response of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients on insulin therapy versus oral antidiabetic treatment
  • The oral glucose tolerance test response in healthy volunteers versus type 2 diabetes mellitus patients
  • The effects of a high-fat challenge in healthy versus diabetic subjects
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