Autogen wins US patent for Beacon gene

Melbourne biotech Autogen (ASX: AGT) has been granted a US patent for its Beacon gene, and its use as a therapeutic or diagnostic in conditions like obesity, diabetes and energy imbalance.

The patent is Autogen's first in the US, although CEO Prof Greg Collier says that the company has applied for patents for 42 key genes. An Australian patent was granted to Autogen for the Beacon gene in July.

The gene was initially discovered in the Israeli sand rat, Autogen's animal model for diabetes and obesity.

According to Collier, expression of the Beacon gene is closely related to obesity, with over-expression of the gene in obese rats, compared to lean rats. The researchers have found that when the Beacon protein is injected into animals, it increases food intake.

The company has now shown that the Beacon gene in humans is identical to the gene in rats. Additionally, two genetic variations have been discovered that are strongly associated with higher percentage body fat, total fat mass and waist-to-hip ratio, as well as to increased triglycerides, cholesterol and LDL (so-called 'bad') cholesterol levels which are implicated in increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Autogen scientist Dr Ken Walder presented the results at the International Congress on Obesity in Sao Paulo, Brazil last week.

Collier said that the granting of the patent was an exciting development for Autogen, which is collaborating with Merck-Sante to develop new anti-obesity therapies.

"The agreement between Autogen and Merck-Sante provides Autogen with major milestone payments as well as a 5-7 per cent royalty share from any anti-obesity drugs developed by Merck-Sante that are based on Beacon," he said.

Autogen's role in the collaboration is gene discovery, with Merck-Sante responsible for identifying lead compounds and developing them.

"The next step is to do high-throughput screening on the gene pathway to come up with some lead compounds for pre-clinical and clinical work," explained Collier. He said that Merck-Sante would be responsible for this phase of the research.

"Our work is done for Beacon," he said. "We get paid for discovering targets. The icing on the cake for us will be the royalties [for therapies developed from the gene targets]."