Patents for treatment for obesity acquired by Madrona Ventures, to start clinical trials soon

Sep 2 2009

A groundbreaking new treatment for obesity is to begin clinical trials in January. Madrona Ventures Inc., an American publicly listed company (OTCBB:MDRV), has acquired the treatment's European patent and the pending American patent application.

The safe and effective treatment is a proprietary patented pharmaceutical medicine-based behaviour programme pioneered by Dr David Sinclair who has already designed a similar treatment program that has shown remarkable results in the treatment of alcoholism.

Madrona Ventures Inc. (soon to be known as Lightlake Therapeutics Inc) is a drug discovery company focusing on developing new and innovative solutions to obesity and eating disorders.

Dr Sinclair, the scientist who discovered this new approach for weight management and obesity, previously patented The Sinclair Method which is already being used by alcohol clinics. Dr Sinclair has now refined this method to provide a precise treatment of eating disorders. The program weakens and removes unhealthy eating habits while simultaneously preserving and reinforcing healthy eating behaviours, exercising, and other calorie-burning activities.

Says Dr Sinclair: "The method is unique because it doesn't view obesity as a single monolithic disease but targets the one in three cases with a specific subtype that can be treated safely and effectively. Finding medicines that cause a loss of weight is easy. Finding one that does so safely is the hard part."

Madrona Ventures Inc. will be starting the phase II double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial in Finland. The trial will last for six months.

US researchers say obesity related disease costs the US $147billion a year. In Britain, the Department of Health estimates obesity is costing the NHS Pounds Sterling 4.7billion per annum. Both countries estimate that 25% of the population is now obese and these figures are rising. The total market for weight reduction includes obesity drugs but also surgical procedures, diet programs, diet foods, exercise regimes, fitness machines, and spas. The amount spent each year is in excess of a trillion dollars ($1,000,000,000,000), i.e., an order of magnitude higher than the most profitable blockbuster medicine. In the UK alone, the annual cost of obesity to society is estimated at $12 billion (Pounds Sterling 7,500,000,000).

http://www.madrona.com