
A Rare Genetic Aversion to Sweets Could Be Key to Fighting Obesity - onuralp
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-08-15/a-rare-genetic-aversion-to-sweets-could-be-key-to-fighting-obesity
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apo
_Johnson & Johnson tried more than a decade ago to bring a fructose metabolism
inhibitor to market after chemist Bruce Maryanoff, who discovered the
blockbuster anti-epilepsy treatment Topamax, developed several of them.
However, the drug failed before ever reaching a clinical trial, and J&J didn’t
think funding more research would yield a commercial success, the now-retired
Maryanoff said in an interview. _

Topamax is a good example of how drug discovery can work.

The substance is an intermediate in the synthesis of a group of potential
fructose metabolism inhibitors the Maryanoff group at Johnson&Johnson(J&J) was
pursing.

Two practices allowed Topamax to be serendipitously discovered:

1\. Maryanoff's group routinely submitted synthetic intermediates to the J&J
compound collection in multi-gram quantities.

2\. A pharmacologist was aware of the compound collection and became aware of
the similarity of the non-sugar part of the intermediate to certain anti-
seizure drugs. He ordered some and decided to test it in an in vivo model.

[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/38039951/download](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/38039951/download)

