Appetite for GFRAL

Simultaneous publications from Eli Lilly and Co., Johnson & Johnson and Novo Nordisk A/S identifying GFRAL as the receptor of the anti-obesity hormone GDF15 will undoubtedly accelerate therapeutic translation of the pathway. The race is now on to reach the clinic.

The three pharmas had been competing for years to find the receptor for GDF15, an endocrine player suspected to be an important signaling molecule in the gut-brain axis. The axis is a collection of signaling pathways through which the enteric and central nervous systems communicate to control appetite, blood glucose and insulin sensitivity. ...