Interviews with Faculty Researchers

– Interview with Prof. Leung Yun-chung, Thomas
Professor, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology
Awardee of the Faculty Award for Outstanding Achievement 2023 - Knowledge Transfer: Industry

Obesity has long been a pervasive health concern, with a common focus on its visible manifestations rather than its underlying causes, specifically its metabolic origins. Notably, obesity is associated with numerous diseases, including diabetes, fatty liver, coronary heart disease, stroke and cancer.

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, and play a pivotal role in regulating various chemical reactions and metabolic processes. These amino acids influence functions such as hormone and enzyme secretion, as well as immune system responses.

In response to these insights, Prof. Thomas Leung has developed a groundbreaking drug named ABarginase. This drug leverages a novel treatment mechanism involving arginine starvation. Arginine, a highly versatile amino acid, serves multiple metabolic functions. Arginine starvation offers a novel approach to address multiple health issues associated with obesity.

The research team has amassed substantial data from animal studies, demonstrating ABarginase’s efficacy in eliminating the factors contributing to these health problems, and effectively addressing obesity. Moreover, ABarginase can provide both preventive benefits with regular application and eliminate obesity-related diseases, including diabetes and fatty liver, with just one drug. Importantly, ABarginase itself does not function as a hormone and is devoid of associated side effects.

While the research team is currently exploring avenues for human clinical trials, the primary challenge lies in disseminating this groundbreaking discovery to a wider audience. Weight loss drugs currently available in the market often come with various undesirable side effects. ABarginase acts via different mechanisms, and animal studies show that it is safe for long-term use.

ABarginase is presently in the fundraising phase. If it is successfully developed, it could represent a groundbreaking medical breakthrough and a significant investment opportunity in Hong Kong.

一藥治百病 - 針對多項肥胖相關疾病的藥物

– 梁潤松教授專訪
應用生物及化學科技學系教授
2023年學院特設傑出成就獎 –知識轉移得獎者

長久以來，癡肥都是常見的健康問題，可是普羅大眾通常都只會關注肥胖引起的外表問題，而忽視了其根本的成因，尤其與新陳代謝有關的源由。癡肥其實與許多疾病都有關，當中包括糖尿病、脂肪肝、冠心病、中風以及癌症，這些致命的疾病都值得我們留意。

因為蛋白質由氨基酸組成，氨基酸在調節各種化學反應和代謝過程中發揮著關鍵作用，繼而影響激素、酵素分泌和免疫系統的不同反應。

基於以上理論，梁潤松教授開發了一種名為ABarginase的開創性藥物，當中採用了一種名叫精氨酸飢餓的新型治療方法作為理論基礎。精氨酸是一種影響體內不同功能的氨基酸，負責處理多種代謝功能，而精氨酸飢餓則是一種創新的手法，可解決與肥胖相關的多種健康問題。

研究團隊已透過動物測試獲得大量數據，並已證實ABarginase能消除導致以上疾病出現的因素，有效解決癡肥問題。此外，定期使用ABarginase有預防作用，只需一種藥物就可免受肥胖相關疾病之苦，包括糖尿病和脂肪肝。更重要的是，ABarginase本身沒有激素作用，所以沒有相關的副作用。

目前，研究團隊正探索進行臨床試驗的可能性，但主要的難題仍然是如何讓更多人知道這一重大發現。目前市場上可用的減肥藥物常常帶有各種不良副作用，而ABarginase則是透過多個生理機制來發揮作用，而動物測試顯示長期使用亦十分安全。

ABarginase目前正籌募款項，如果開發成功，它將會是一項醫學上的重大突破，亦代表著香港相關範疇的一大里程碑。