ENV-308
| Clinical data | |
|---|---|
| Other names | ENV308; ESN-O |
| Routes of administration | Oral[1][2] |
| Drug class | Hormonal agent; Lac-Phe mimetic; Exercise mimetic |
ENV-308, also known as ESN-O, is a synthetic hormonal agent and exercise mimetic which is under development for the treatment of obesity.[1][2][3][4] It is taken orally.[1][2]
The drug is a mimic of N-lactoylphenylalanine (Lac-Phe), a hormone discovered at Stanford University in 2022.[2][3][4][5][6] Lac-Phe is released during intense exercise and after eating and reduces appetite and obesity in animals.[2][4][5][6] This hormone itself has poor pharmacokinetic properties, for instance a short duration.[4][7] ENV-308 is an improved alternative to Lac-Phe suitable for once-daily oral administration.[4] As a mimic of Lac-Phe, ENV-308 is considered to be an exercise mimetic.[4] The drug has been found to lower leptin levels in animals and humans, with the greatest decreases in people with the highest baseline leptin levels, which is thought to be a marker of improved leptin resistance.[2][4][5] Unlike GLP-1 agonists, ENV-308 produced few gastrointestinal side effects.[2][4][5][7]
Besides metabolic effects, Lac-Phe has also been found to produce anxiolytic-like effects in rodents, which were associated with dopaminergic and serotonergic signaling, as well as reduced hippocampal cytokine expression.[8]
ENV-308 is under development by Enveda Biosciences.[1][4] As of August 2026, it has completed phase 1 clinical trials.[1][2][4] A phase 2 trial is being planned.[4] In addition, a trial of the drug for weight loss maintenance in people stopping GLP-1 agonists is being planned.[2][5] The drug was discovered via Enveda Bioscience's proprietary AI model PRISM.[4] The chemical structure of ENV-308 does not yet appear to have been disclosed.[1]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "ENV 308". AdisInsight. 23 December 2025. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Taylor NP (19 August 2026). "Enveda's exercise-simulating obesity tablet clears early clinical test". BioSpace. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
- 1 2 Cooney E (18 August 2026). "A pill that mimics exercise? Early results on drug designed to maintain both weight loss and muscle mass". STAT. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Cara E (19 August 2026). "An 'Exercise Pill' Just Cleared Its First Human Test". Gizmodo. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Could this new pill be like GLP-1s without the side effects?". Advisory Board. 19 August 2026. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
- 1 2 Li VL, He Y, Contrepois K, Liu H, Kim JT, Wiggenhorn AL, et al. (June 2022). "An exercise-inducible metabolite that suppresses feeding and obesity". Nature. 606 (7915): 785–790. Bibcode:2022Natur.606..785L. doi:10.1038/s41586-022-04828-5. PMC 9767481. PMID 35705806.
- 1 2 Pharmacally (18 August 2026), Can the Chemistry of Exercise Be Delivered in a Daily Pill? Enveda Advances ENV-308, a Lac-Phe Mimetic - Pharmacally, retrieved 19 August 2026
- ↑ Suzuki S, Chiba K, Kanzaki H, Takahashi H, Yamazaki Y, Takahashi N, et al. (May 2026). "Lac-Phe elicits anxiolytic-like effects associated with monoaminergic signaling in mice". Translational Psychiatry. 16 (1) 383. doi:10.1038/s41398-026-04106-2. PMC 13408088. PMID 42215433.
 | This pharmacology-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |