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New Israeli Anti-Diabetes Drug Could be a Game-Changer for Millions of Patients

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JERUSALEM, Israel – An Israeli company based in Jerusalem is developing a drug that could change the lives of countless people suffering from Type 2 diabetes.

Concenter BioPharma created a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug called Zygosid-50 that targets the disease at its source by restoring the body’s sensitivity to insulin.

Insulin is the hormone that keeps your blood sugar from getting too high after you eat. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body is no longer sensitive to insulin or the pancreas does not make enough.

Concenter Biopharma cofounder and CSO Prof. Mottie (Mordechai) Chevion developed the drug at Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.

“Zygosids work by robustly reducing insulin resistance and normalizing all diabetes-associated parameters to the normal range,” the professor told ISRAEL21c. “On the molecular level, Zygosid-50 is a potent anti-inflammatory drug that forces an intra-cellular exchange – removal of ‘bad’ free iron with zinc, depositing the zinc ion within the cells.”

When researchers tested Zygosid-50 on animals, it was able to restore insulin sensitivity by more than 90%, lowered glucose, and suppressed high inflammation levels within the body.

Chevion explained that the drug had no bad side effects on animals. Now, the company is working to get the new drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA has already approved clinical trials after the company completes a series of pre-clinical toxicology studies on the drug.

“We are working on accommodating those requests and making the final formulation of the drug as a pill. We plan to perform clinical studies here in Israel. Then we will submit another IND (Investigational New Drug) application to go to phase 2b, by the end of 2020. We are currently raising funds to do all of that,” Chevion told ISRAEL21c.

The company is currently raising $5 million to fund this year’s tests on the drug.

“The estimated cost of treating diabetes per year is over $850 billion. More than 150 companies are developing diagnostics or applications for diabetes, but there are no drugs to treat the actual problem of insulin resistance without side effects. This is what we are doing,” he said.

Concenter BioPharma has already received recognition.

The small company won first place at the 17th Annual World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases in December.

 

 

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https://www.concenterbiopharma.com/

https://www.israel21c.org/finally-a-pill-that-could-fix-the-root-cause-of-diabetes/

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About The Author

Emily
Jones

Emily Jones is a multi-media journalist for CBN News in Jerusalem. Before she moved to the Middle East in 2019, she spent years regularly traveling to the region to study the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, meet with government officials, and raise awareness about Christian persecution. During her college years, Emily served as president of Regent University's Christians United for Israel chapter and spoke alongside world leaders at numerous conferences and events. She is an active member of the Philos Project, an organization that seeks to promote positive Christian engagement with the Middle