Zucara Therapeutics Expands ZT-01 Development Program to Type 2 Diabetes

Zucara Therapeutics Inc. a diabetes life sciences company developing the first once-daily therapeutic to prevent insulin-induced hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels), announced that it has expanded the development of ZT-01, a somatostatin receptor 2 antagonist (“SSTR2a”), to Type 2 Diabetes (“T2D”).

The development of ZT-01 for T2D will be supported, in part, by advisory services and up to $415,000 in non-dilutive research and development funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP). NRC IRAP previously awarded Zucara with up to $400,000 in funding for the development of ZT-01 for Type 1 Diabetes (“T1D”). In addition, Zucara and York University have been awarded a Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship grant, which will fund the development of a preclinical T2D model.

“We are grateful for NRC IRAP’s renewed support and are delighted to receive this Mitacs Award, both of which will enable the development of ZT-01 for T2D,” said Dr. Richard Liggins, Zucara’s Chief Scientific Officer. “The expansion of our ZT-01 development program is based on promising results in a preclinical model of T2D and represents the potential to benefit a substantially larger population. We look forward to working with York University to advance this preclinical T2D model to enable future clinical development.”

Dr. Michael Riddell, Chair, Clinical Advisory Board for Zucara and Professor in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science and Muscle Health Research Centre at York University, added, “These grants build on the funding we previously received from GlycoNet to extend the therapeutic potential of ZT-01 to T2D patients. We look forward to continuing our efforts to address an unmet need of hypoglycemia prevention in people living with either T1D or T2D.”

In a late-breaking poster presentation at the 2019 American Diabetes Association Conference, Zucara presented results of a preclinical study in which an SSTR2a significantly improved the attenuated glucagon response to hypoglycemia in a T2D animal model, compared with vehicle control. Zucara and York University subsequently secured a grant of $69,000 from Canadian Glycomics Network (GlycoNet) to expand and validate the model for T2D.

On September 29, 2020, Zucara dosed the first subject in its ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of ZT-01 for the prevention of insulin-induced hypoglycemia in patients with T1D.