Animal models show CSL drug candidate is research breakthrough in diabetes

Australia’s CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) has developed a new drug candidate – dubbed 2H10 - that is able to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes and reverse its progression in animal models of the disease.

The drug candidate blocks signalling by a protein known as vascular endothelial growth factor B (VEGF-B) and this prevents fat from accumulating in the "wrong" places, such as in muscles and in the heart. As a result, cells within these tissues are once again able to respond to insulin and blood glucose is restored to normal levels. This represents an entirely new approach to the treatment of type 2 diabetes and a paper outlining this breakthrough has just been published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature.

The research is a joint effort by an international team led by Ulf Eriksson, a professor at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, and involving scientists from CSL's research laboratories in Melbourne, The University of Melbourne and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.