Pharmaceutical Companies Turn To Grizzly Bears For Obesity Research
Pharmaceutical companies are now looking into testing drugs on animals other than rats and mice. Amgen is one of the first companies to venture into this phase of drug testing, bringing 12 grizzly bears into their laboratories to test obesity drugs. The intent is to find a more suitable drug that can tackle the nation’s obesity problem, as most drugs designed for this purpose have not been successful.
Bears have been chosen for the project because of their natural hibernation process, which allows rapid weight gain to sustain them for the winter. The area of study is being concentrated on the bears’ ability to withstand prolonged high cholesterol and high blood pressure levels, without increasing their chances of a heart attack, which is not possible in humans.
The research team, lead by Dr. Kevin Corbit, is studying how the bears’ bodies respond to the rapid increase of weight and the body’s natural ability to manage its sensitivity to insulin during hibernation.
In 2012, researchers from Stanford University tested an area of the brain that affected narcoleptic dogs. The research later lead to the development of a sleeping pill by Merck that targeted a specific region of the brain rather than the entire nervous system.
Among the animals used for specific drug testing research have been: lemon sharks, because of their extraordinary ability to defy cancer; llamas, because of the unique antibodies found in their immune system which fight off disease better than most organisms; and arctic penguins for their ability to overcome fasting with little or no physical repercussions.
According to past research, using different species, with a natural affiliation to the research concentration, has yielded more results for pharmaceutical companies than rats and mice alone. The research on grizzly bears could yield big results for pharmaceutical companies aiming to tackle the obesity problem the US faces, as 36% of its population is considered obese, with at risk adolescents also suffering. The last records published by the CDC show that 15%-19% of students in 12 states were already obese.
Source http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303330204579246003604081632