Cumc Geneticist's Original Finding Leads To Deal With Biogen Idecï's Innovation Incubator
First Project to Explore Drug Development for Metabolic Disorders: Diabetes, Obesity NEW YORK, (Dec. 19, 2007) – Columbia University Medical Center and its Chair of Genetics Gerard Karsenty, M.D., Ph.D., announced today that they have joined with Biogen Idec, based in Cambridge, Mass. to form a start-up company called Escoublac. Escoublac, the first occupant in Biogen’s Idec Innovation Incubator (bi3), will explore whether Dr. Karsenty’s recent original discovery of a new link between bone biology and metabolism can be translated into new treatments for metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Gerard Karsenty, M.D., Ph.D. Escoublac’s research direction will focus on initiatives involving osteocalcin, a hormone that Dr. Karsenty and colleagues showed in a seminal paper this summer is involved in regulating insulin and fat storage in the body. In research published in Cell this summer, Dr. Karsenty and his collaborators showed that an increase in osteocalcin activity prevents the development of type 2 diabetes and obesity in mice. This discovery potentially opens the door for novel therapeutic avenues for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes in human subjects as well.
“We’re very pleased to be embarking upon this venture with Biogen Idec,” said Dr. Karsenty, who in addition to his positions as genetics chairman and professor at CUMC, will be key scientific advisor at Escoublac. “What appealed to me about bi3 was the access to Biogen Idec’s scientists. The ability to tap into their drug discovery and development expertise increases our collective chances of turning a promising discovery into therapies that actually help patients.”
Bi3 is designed to contribute to Biogen Idec’s drug development pipeline by offering scientists like Dr. Karsenty the opportunity to rapidly convert novel biological insights into life-saving and life-changing therapies. The incubator model provides Dr. Karsenty and his research team access to three critical resources necessary to building a company and advancing a scientific discovery from the lab bench to a patient’s bedside: financial resources for drug development; state-of-the-art laboratory space and shared equipment (at Biogen’s Cambridge, Mass. Headquarters); and drug discovery expertise, scientific services and world-class technology, as well as business and administrative support.
This collaboration is a terrific example of Columbia’s commitment to moving scientific milestones from the laboratory to patient care as swiftly as possible,” said Orin Herskowitz, acting executive director of Columbia University Science and Technology Ventures, Columbia University’s technology transfer and intellectual property office. “We are pleased that this partnership is focused on bringing potential therapies to bear on diabetes and obesity; two of our nation’s most pressing public health problems.”
Original Paper Published This Summer Shows Hormone’s Involvement in Metabolism
Dr. Karsenty’s original finding, published in the August 10 issue of Cell, demonstrated that bone cells release a hormone called osteocalcin, which controls the regulation of blood sugar (glucose) and fat deposition through synergistic mechanisms previously not recognized. Usually, an increase in insulin secretion is accompanied by a decrease in insulin sensitivity. Osteocalcin, however, as discovered by Dr. Karsenty and his colleagues, increases both the secretion and sensitivity of insulin, in addition to boosting the number of insulin-producing cells and reducing stores of fat.
“The discovery that our bones are responsible for regulating blood sugar in ways that were not known before completely changed our understanding of the function of the skeleton and uncovered a crucial aspect of energy metabolism,” said Dr. Karsenty.
Karsenty and his colleagues had previously shown that leptin, a hormone released by fat cells, acts upon and ultimately controls bone mass. They reasoned that bones must in turn communicate with fat, so they searched bone-forming cells for molecules that could potentially send signals back to fat cells.
The researchers found that osteocalcin, a protein made only by bone-forming cells (osteoblasts), was not a mere structural protein, but rather a hormone with totally unanticipated and crucial functions. Osteocalcin directs the pancreas’ beta cells, which produce the body’s supply of insulin, to produce more insulin. At the same time, osteocalcin directs fat cells to release a hormone called adiponectin, which improves insulin sensitivity. This discovery showed for the first time that one hormone has a synergistic function in regulating insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity, and that this coordinating signal comes from the skeleton. Additionally, osteocalcin enhances the production of insulin-producing beta cells, which is considered one of the best, but currently unattainable, strategies to treat diabetes.
People with type 2 diabetes have been shown to have low osteocalcin levels, suggesting that altering the activity of this molecule could be an effective therapy. That hypothesis is supported by the Columbia research, which showed that mice with high levels of osteocalcin activity were prevented from gaining weight or becoming diabetic even when they ate a high fat diet. Analysis of mice lacking the osteocalcin protein showed that they had type 2 diabetes, increased fat mass, decreased insulin and adiponectin expression, and decreased beta-cell proliferation.
Now that Escoublac has been established, the company, with the scientific advice of Dr. Karsenty, will further explore osteocalcin’s role in the body with an aim toward rapidly developing new medication therapies involving this vitally important hormone.
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About Columbia University Medical Center A leading academic and research university, Columbia continually seeks to advance the frontiers of knowledge and to foster a campus community deeply engaged in understanding and addressing the complex global issues of our time. Founded in 1754 as King's College, Columbia University in the City of New York is the country's fifth oldest institution of higher learning. Established in 1767, Columbia’s College of Physicians & Surgeons was the first institution in the country to grant the M.D. degree. Among the most selective medical schools in the country, the school is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York State and one of the largest in the country. Columbia University Medical Center comprises the College of Physicians & Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. It provides international leadership in basic, pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health sciences education, and in patient care. Columbia University's technology transfer office, Science & Technology Ventures, specializes in technology commercialization via licensing and new company formation. It facilitates the transfer of scientific discovery and innovation from the university setting into the marketplace touting more than 70 license transactions and 12 start-up companies launched in 2007. For more information on STV, please visit http://www.stv.columbia.edu.
About Escoublac Escoublac was founded based on the discovery that osteocalcin, a protein found in bone and dentin, plays a role in energy metabolism and related disorders. The research findings, published in the August issue of peer-reviewed scientific journal Cell, showed that osteocalcin encouraged weight loss, increased the production of insulin-generating beta cells as well as insulin, and improved sensitivity to insulin. The company aims to transform this discovery into new therapies for metabolic disorders and related conditions, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.
About the Biogen Idec Innovation Incubator (bi3) Bi3 offers the opportunity for entrepreneurial scientists to rapidly convert novel biological insights into life-saving and life-changing therapeutics. Bi3’s unique model blends the best of a startup's energy, a venture firm's capital and a fully-integrated biotech's resources to maximize the chances of scientific, clinical and financial success. For additional information about the Biogen Idec Innovation Incubator, please visit www.biogenidec.com/bi3.
About Biogen Idec Biogen Idec creates new standards of care in therapeutic areas with high unmet medical needs. Founded in 1978, Biogen Idec is a global leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative therapies. Patients in more than 90 countries benefit from Biogen Idec's significant products that address diseases such as lymphoma, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. For product labeling, press releases and additional information about the company, please visit www.biogenidec.com.