TM38837 is a new small molecule inverse inhibitor of the CB1 receptor Cannabinoid receptor

Cannabinoid receptor

The cannabinoid receptors are a class of cell membrane receptors under the G protein-coupled receptor superfamily. As is typical of G protein-coupled receptors, the cannabinoid receptors contain seven transmembrane spanning domains...

. It is being developed for the treatment of obesity

Obesity

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...

 and metabolic disorders by 7TM Pharma. The company has announced phase I clinical trials.

TM38837 is among the first of a new generation of cannabinoid receptor antagonist

Cannabinoid receptor antagonist

The discovery of the endogenous cannabinoid system led to the development of CB1 receptor antagonists. The first cannabinoid receptor "antagonist," rimonabant, was described in 1994. Rimonabant blocks the CB1 receptor selectively and it has been shown to decrease food intake and regulate...

 designed to avoid the central nervous system

Central nervous system

The central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that integrates the information that it receives from, and coordinates the activity of, all parts of the bodies of bilaterian animals—that is, all multicellular animals except sponges and radially symmetric animals such as jellyfish...

 liabilities of the first generation CB1 receptor antagonists, for example rimonabant

Rimonabant

Rimonabant is an anorectic antiobesity drug that has been withdrawn from the market. It is an inverse agonist for the cannabinoid receptor CB1...

.

External links

• http://www.7tm.com/ www.7tm.com
• http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-07/iaft-eod070810.php Experimental obesity drug avoids brain effects that troubled predecessors