U.S. Patent No. 8,598,150 was awarded today (Dec. 3) for the use of an antioxidant compound called MnTBAP* for treatment of obesity and obesity-related conditions, such as insulin resistance or pre-diabetes.

The patent was filed by two Skidmore College researchers: Jonathan R. Brestoff Parker and professor Thomas H. Reynolds, IV.

In unpublished mouse experiments, they found that the compound decreases obesity by promoting triglyceride breakdown and improves type 2 diabetes by modulating insulin signaling. The specific molecular target of the compound is not yet known, Brestoff Parker told KurzweilAI in an exclusive interview.

“We demonstrated that giving this compound to obese mice previously fed a high-fat diet results in a 40 percent decrease in body weight,” he said. “To put that number in human terms: if a 300 lb obese person lost 40% of their body weight, they would lose 120 pounds.

“We are hopeful that we can further develop this compound and bring it through pre-clinical development studies, with the goal of obtaining IND status from the FDA.”

Brestoff Parker is currently an MD-PhD graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. He formerly studied public health in Ireland as a recipient of the noted George J. Mitchell Scholarship. Thomas H. Reynolds is an Associate Professor of Health & Exercise Sciences at Skidmore College, located in Saratoga Springs, NY.

* Manganese [III] tetrakis (4-benzoic acid) porphyrin or its derivatives or analogs