RICHMOND, Calif., Nov. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioAge Labs, Inc. ("BioAge"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapeutic product candidates for metabolic diseases, such as obesity, by targeting the biology of human aging, today announced that it will present new preclinical data for its lead product candidate azelaprag, an orally available small molecule agonist of the apelin receptor APJ. The data will be presented at ObesityWeek 2024, held in San Antonio from November 2–6, 2024.

"Our preclinical data highlight the potential of azelaprag as a novel oral therapy for obesity," said Kristen Fortney, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of BioAge. “Our two presentations provide evidence supporting the ability of BioAge’s azelaprag to enhance weight loss when combined with oral appetite suppression mechanisms, and to protect against excess weight gain and provide metabolic benefits as a monotherapy. These findings support our ongoing clinical development of azelaprag, and our broader mission to develop innovative treatments for metabolic diseases by leveraging insights from human aging biology."

In their two presentations, BioAge CMO and EVP Research Paul Rubin, MD, and VP Translational Aging Biology Yan Wang, PhD, will present data demonstrating that in mice on a high-fat diet, azelaprag increased weight loss and improved body composition in combination with semaglutide, tirzepatide, the oral GLP-1 receptor agonist danuglipron, or the oral CB1 inverse agonist rimonabant. These studies demonstrate the potential of azelaprag to be complementary to a range of oral appetite suppression mechanisms for the treatment of obesity.

Dr. Rubin’s talk will also show that in mice on a high-fat diet, azelaprag monotherapy protected against excess weight gain, improved body composition, and increased physical activity and energy expenditure, reinforcing the metabolic and exercise mimetic benefits of apelin signaling.

Oral presentation: Wednesday, November 6, 2024, 8:45–9:00 am CST
Title: The Apelin Receptor Agonist Azelaprag Reduces Weight Gain & Improves Body Composition in Diet-Induced Obese Mice
Session: Corporate Orals Session 3, room 006
Presenter: Paul Rubin, MD, Chief Medical Officer and EVP Research, BioAge Labs

Poster presentation: Tuesday, November 5, 2024, 2:30 PM CST
Title: The APJ Agonist Azelaprag Improves Weight Loss and Body Composition in DIO Mice on a CB1 Antagonist
Poster number: 628
Presenter: Yan Wang, PhD, VP Translational Aging Biology, BioAge Labs

The visual materials for the presentations will be made available on the BioAge investor website https://ir.bioagelabs.com concurrent with the beginning of their respective sessions.

About BioAge Labs, Inc.

BioAge is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic product candidates for metabolic diseases, such as obesity, by targeting the biology of human aging. BioAge’s lead product candidate, azelaprag, is an orally available small molecule agonist of APJ that was observed to promote metabolism and prevent muscle atrophy on bed rest in a Phase 1b clinical trial. In mid-2024, BioAge initiated a Phase 2 trial of azelaprag in combination with tirzepatide for the treatment of obesity in older adults. Azelaprag has potential as an oral regimen to amplify weight loss and improve body composition in patients on obesity therapy with incretin drugs. BioAge is also developing orally available small molecule brain penetrant NLRP3 inhibitors for the treatment of diseases driven by neuroinflammation. BioAge’s preclinical programs, based on novel insights from the company’s discovery platform built on human longevity data, address key pathways in metabolic aging.

Contacts
PR: Chris Patil, media@bioagelabs.com
IR: Elena Liapounova, ir@bioagelabs.com
Partnering: partnering@bioagelabs.com
Web: https://bioagelabs.com