Thinning out the competition: Platypep team narrows the field to a blockbuster peptide
The Platypep venom project, funded by AusHealth since 2016, has taken another step toward creating an Australian-made version of Ozempic.
The research team has successfully identified a ‘hero peptide’ – derived from platypus venom – that reduces food intake, prevents weight gain and improves metabolic health in mice.
The eight-week trial saw specially fattened mice injected daily with six trial ‘platy-peptides’.
The mice received injections of the peptides via subcutaneous injection, similar to how GLP-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic are commonly delivered in humans.
Throughout the trial, the team tracked changes in the animals’ body weight and assessed how well the mice controlled their blood glucose levels.
“We discovered that the lead peptide effectively reduced food intake and prevented weight gain in the mice,” says PhD researcher Alanah Bradey.
“Additionally, this peptide improved metabolic health, including lower fasting blood glucose, better insulin sensitivity, improved glucose tolerance and reduced fatty liver disease,” she says.
The team now plans to evaluate the ‘winning’ peptide for further development, aiming at improved efficacy and finding friendlier delivery methods such as oral delivery.
“The commercial potential for Platypep is massive,” says AusHealth’s Business Development and Commercialisation Manager, Dr Tina Lavranos.
“These latest results are very promising in terms of creating more effective treatments for both Type 2 diabetes and obesity, with reduced side effects,” she says. “AusHealth looks forward to helping translate these technologies to benefit patients not only throughout Australia but globally.”
Alanah Bradey’s PhD research (University of Adelaide) is investigating the development of novel GLP-1 receptor agonists, which are used in obesity management and the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.
GLP-1 receptor agonists are a relatively new class of drug which are being widely used for weight loss – they stimulate insulin secretion, delay gastric emptying and make you feel fuller for longer.
The first drug in this class was Exenatide, which was developed following the discovery of a GLP-1 peptide in a venomous lizard called the Gila monster. Since then, other drugs in this class have been developed with their structures based on either Exenatide or a modified form of human GLP-1.
In 2016, researchers from the University of Adelaide and Flinders University published the discovery of GLP-1 in platypus and echidna venom. That was the start of AusHealth’s Platypep project.
In 2021, Professor Glenn King at the University of Queensland collaborated with AusHealth to look at the bioactivity of both monotremes’ GLP-1s and design 23 new synthetic GLP-1 peptides. The following year, the University of Adelaide team was charged with testing all 23 platy-peptides for their efficacy in stimulating insulin production and suppressing appetite.
Six peptides were found to be the most potent.
In the most recent trial, mice were fattened on a special high-calorie diet for three months to model obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
The potential for a project like this is huge. It’s estimated that by 2030 there will be more than 1 billion people who are obese.