Amgen quietly kills an obesity program, casting bleak future for once-promising target
Five years ago, in a span of less than two months, four drug companies simultaneously converged on a single new way to treat obesity.
It was a curious scientific journey. More than a decade prior, an Australian immunologist named Sam Breit had shown that cancer patients who lose a lot of weight often have high levels of a protein called GDF-15. Further studies showed it was causative: Knock out the gene in mice, and the same tumors don’t induce weight loss.
Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.
You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.
