OWL833, an Orally Active Nonpeptide GLP-1 Receptor Agonist, Improves Glucose Tolerance by Increasing Insulin Secretion and Reduces Food Intake of Cynomolgus Monkeys

Activation of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors (GLP-1R) is a promising approach for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), and several peptide analogues of GLP-1 have been successfully developed. Here we identified a new orally active non-peptide GLP-1R agonist, OWL833, and examined its efficacy in cynomolgus monkeys. The agonistic activity of OWL833 was evaluated by measuring cAMP accumulation in cells expressing mammal GLP-1Rs and other glucagon family receptors. In the cells expressing human or cynomolgus monkey GLP-1R, OWL833 promoted cAMP accumulation to the same level achieved by GLP-1, and its EC50 values for human and cynomolgus monkey GLP-1Rs were the same at 1.1 nmol/L. In contrast, OWL833 showed no stimulatory activity on human glucagon, GIP, and GLP-2 receptors. The predicted bioavailability and T1/2 of OWL833 in human based on rodent and non-rodent experimental data are 30% and ∼18 hour, respectively. After OWL833 followed by glucose was intravenously injected in cynomolgus monkeys, OWL833 decreased the blood glucose level via insulin secretion to the same extent as effective concentrations of exenatide, a GLP-1 peptide mimetic, in clinic. Doses of 0.and 0.1 mg/kg OWL833 given orally to cynomolgus monkeys reduced their food intake by 25% and 45%, respectively, as compared with vehicle group, and the effect on food intake was equal to that of 0.3 and 0.6 µg/kg subcutaneous injections of exenatide. No critical finding was observed in the subchronic toxicity studies in rats and cynomolgus monkeys. These findings demonstrate that OWL833 has full agonistic activity on human and cynomolgus GLP-1R and improves glucose tolerance by stimulating insulin secretion, and that it exhibits an anti-feeding activity similar to exenatide. In conclusion, OWL833 has potential as a once-daily, orally active, non-peptide GLP-1 receptor agonist. Disclosure T. Kawai: Employee; Self; Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. F. Tanino: Employee; Self; Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. M. Fukazawa: Employee; Self; Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. K. Ogawa: Employee; Self; Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. S. Nagao: Employee; Self; Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. H. Yoshino: Employee; Self; Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. S. Komatsu: Employee; Self; Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Y. Suzuki: Employee; Self; Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Y. Kawabe: Employee; Self; Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd..