The University of Pisa has patented a new drug for type 2 diabetes that can also protect the heart. Is called “Song», acronimo di «Metformin-isothiocyanate: a noveL apprOach to prevent Diabetes-Induced Endothelial dysfunction».
Diabetes, the new molecule combines the antidiabetic effect of metformin with the cardiovascular protective properties of hydrogen sulfide
In addition to maintaining its anti-diabetic properties, it also has protective characteristics at a cardiovascular level and a better pharmacokinetic profile. «The drug that we have recently patented internationally is based on a small hybrid moleculeMet-ITC, che combines the antidiabetic effect of metformin, the best-selling molecule among oral antidiabetic drugs, with the cardiovascular protective properties of hydrogen sulfideor H2S – reports the Professor Alma Martelliscientific coordinator of the MELODIE project – We modified the metformin molecule by adding a biologically active portion, the isothiocyanate. Isothiocyanates are also natural substances that derive from edible plants such as broccoli, rocket, cabbage, mustard, wasabi and have beneficial effects on a cardiovascular level, as they are capable of releasing H2S into the body. H2S is an important “gastransmitter” that protects the vascular wall from the inflammatory and oxidative stimuli that characterize metabolic disorders such as diabetes.”
The group that developed the new Met-ITC drug covered by the patent is composed of Vincenzo Calderone (full professor of pharmacology), Federico Da Settimo Passetti (full professor of pharmaceutical chemistry), Sabrina Taliani (associate professor of pharmaceutical chemistry), Alma Martelli (associate professor of pharmacology), Lara Testai (associate professor of pharmacology), Elisabetta Barresi (associate professor of medicinal chemistry), Valentina Citi (researcher in pharmacology) and Eugenia Piragine (researcher in pharmacology) and has a wide experience in the design, synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of hybrid drugs and in particular on molecules capable of releasing gas transmitters such as H2S.
The group of researchers, in recent years, has concentrated its attention on the innovative research field of H2S-releasing drugs, as agents capable of responding to unmet medical needswith particular reference to the cardiovascular system, producing numerous publications in important international scientific journals.
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