Ep. 262, Chapter 1: Introducing Roger Cone, Ph.D., and Bases of Courage Therapeutics' Research

0:00 – 11:55

Life Science Leader Chief Editor Ben Comer introduces Roger Cone, Ph.D., Founder Of Courage Therapeutics, a preclinical company focused on obesity and eating disorders. The company's intellectual property is based on Dr. Cone's decades of research into the melanocortin system, a pathway crucial to regulating eating behaviors and energy homeostasis.

Dr. Cone’s research began in the late 1980s with the cloning of several G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). His team discovered three new receptors — MC3, MC4, and MC5 — eventually finding that the MC3 and MC4 receptors were critical to feeding behavior and body weight regulation in mice. Within a year, human geneticists confirmed that mutations in the MC4 receptor were the most common cause of monogenic obesity in children. Monogenic obesity is a rare but significant cause of severe early-onset obesity. Dr. Cone’s work continues to explore how the brain regulates body weight and addresses critical issues surrounding energy homeostasis.