ApoGlyx is pursuing the following development tracks:

Sepsis is estimated to affect 50 million people per year worldwide and may cause 11 million deaths (Rudd, Johnson et, al. 2020). According to the Global Sepsis Alliance mortality varies by country, between 15 and over 50%. Many sepsis survivors suffer long-lasting consequences. An effective drug could help to save lives and to mitigate debilitating effects for survivors in conjunction with effective infection treatments. Sepsis is most often caused by bacteria, but also viruses are frequently causing sepsis, for example influenza viruses and Sars-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19. The body can respond to such infections in a self-destructive way, causing damage to organs and other body parts.

The ApoGlyx lead compound RG100204 has demonstrated remarkably robust effects, protecting from organ damage in a clinically relevant in vivo model of bacterial infection, systemic inflammation, and multi-organ dysfunction.

Diabetes mellitus affected 422 million people worldwide in 2014, and is the direct or indirect cause of an estimated 2.8 million death annually, according to the WHO. Of these patients, 90-95% suffer from type 2 diabetes. Despite decades of research, resulting in several treatment options, long term outcomes of diabetes such as blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke, and lower limb amputations remain frequent. Moreover, significant differences exist between patients, where some therapies are not well tolerated or ineffective in specific patient segments. Therefore, there is still a need for new treatments against T2D, which can be part of personalized diabetes therapies for improved quality of life and better long term outcomes.

Glycerol is normally generated from body fat during periods of starvation. In diabetic patients, this process is often more active, independent of starvation. Thus, blood sugar production from body fat glycerol further increases the already high blood sugar levels in diabetes patients. Aquaprorin-9 inhibitors block glycerol uptake into the liver, and thereby interfere with the conversion of body fat to glucose (Jelen, Wacker et, al. 2011; Calamita, Gena et, al. 2012). ApoGlyx lead compound RG100204 reduces fasting blood glucose levels in an in vivo model of type-2 diabetes.

Aquaporins have been well recognized as important drug targets (Verkman, Anderson et al. 2014; Huber, Wacker et al. 2016). Potential additional applications for aquaporin-9 inhibitors include acute pancreatitis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, psoriasis, malaria, and many more. ApoGlyx is currently exploring additional applications for aquaporin inhibitors together with academic collaborators.