Biomea’s diabetes drug shows promise, may work for those not responding to GLP-1

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(Corrects to add dropped word “not” in headline)

(Reuters) -Biomea Fusion’s experimental drug showed sustained blood sugar control in patients with type 2 diabetes and may benefit those not responding to GLP-1 therapies like Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, it said on Monday.

Blood sugar levels stayed lower nine months after discontinuing treatment with the drug, icovamenib, suggesting it might help restore the cells that produce insulin.

In the year-long mid-stage study, patients with type 2 diabetes who weren’t seeing results from Novo’s Ozempic also showed noticeable improvement after 12 weeks of treatment, Biomea said.

Icovamenib reduced blood sugar levels in such patients by an average of 1.3%, compared with those on placebo. The reduction in the overall study population was 1.8%.

Icovamenib works by partially blocking a protein called menin, potentially restoring natural insulin production in people with type 2 diabetes.

The drug worked especially well in people whose bodies don’t make enough insulin — a group that’s usually hard to treat.

In 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration placed a clinical hold on Biomea Fusion’s trials of icovamenib, due to concerns about potential liver toxicity observed during the dose -escalation phase of the study.

The hold was lifted three months later, in September 2024, after Biomea revised its study protocol to address safety concerns.

The company on Monday said it plans to begin two other mid-stage studies in the fourth quarter of 2025 — one targeting insulin-deficient patients and another focused on those not responding to GLP-1 therapies.

Shares of the company reversed earlier gains and fell 5.2% in choppy trading after announcing a public offering.

(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)