1. Dr. Ralph DeFronzo discusses icovamenib's potential in diabetes treatment. 2. Icovamenib shows promise for restoring beta cell function in diabetes. 3. Clinical data supports icovamenib's efficacy in glycemic control with GLP-1 therapies. 4. Biomea Fusion aims for swift development of icovamenib for diabetes.
FAQ
Why Bullish?
The positive clinical insights on icovamenib indicate potential for market growth, similar to historical successes of innovative diabetes therapies like GLP-1 agonists.
How important is it?
The article highlights icovamenib's innovative approach to diabetes treatment, addressing a significant unmet need in a large patient population.
Why Long Term?
Icovamenib's market impact will ramp up after successful clinical trials and FDA approval, much like other transformative diabetes treatments.
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- Key Opinion Leader, Dr. Ralph DeFronzo presents the "Future of Menin Inhibitors" and discusses icovamenib and its clinical results shared during WCIRDC 2025 in online interview
SAN CARLOS, Calif., Dec. 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Biomea Fusion, Inc. (NASDAQ:BMEA), a clinical stage diabetes and obesity company, today announced the release of a KOL interview during the 23rd World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes & Cardiovascular Disease (WCIRDC 2025) featuring Dr. Ralph DeFronzo, Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Diabetes Division at UT Health San Antonio. The interview highlights the growing body of preclinical and clinical findings supporting the use of icovamenib in patients with diabetes.
As part of the astr<60 series, Dr. DeFronzo discussed the mechanistic rationale for menin inhibition, the clinical insights from the COVALENT-111 study, and the potential role of restoring beta cell function in insulin deficient diabetes by inhibiting menin. He also reviewed emerging data on the combination of icovamenib and GLP-1 based therapies and its impact on glycemic control, insulin secretion, and beta cell biology. The interview is available on the astr<60 platform.
In addition to the interview, Dr. DeFronzo delivered a scientific presentation at WCIRDC 2025 available to watch on-demand starting today. During Session 12 titled Important Science in Cardiorenal Metabolism, Dr. DeFronzo presented "What Does the Future Hold for Menin Inhibitors and Insulin Sensitizers" where he discussed therapeutics in the space and highlighted menin with its impact in diabetes. He described icovamenib's potential as a potentially disease modifying therapy for diabetes and reviewed long term follow up data from clinical studies.
"We greatly appreciate Dr. DeFronzo's continued leadership and independent scientific evaluation of emerging therapies in diabetes. He is one of the field's most respected and forward-thinking principal investigators in diabetes care," said Ramses Erdtmann, COO & President of Biomea Fusion. "His perspectives on icovamenib underscore the growing recognition of menin inhibition as a promising approach for diabetes care. While more than 60 therapies are available for type 2 diabetes, none have shown the potential to restore beta cell mass and function, a critical unmet need for patients with insulin deficient type 2 diabetes and for those who remain uncontrolled on GLP-1 based therapies. We carry a great responsibility to ensure we swiftly develop icovamenib and execute the clinical studies required for its development."
About astr<60
astr<60 is a webinar series created by astr partners for biotech and finance leaders seeking clear, practical insights in less than an hour. Each session focuses on a timely topic influencing the future of biotechnology and the capital markets and features perspectives from leading experts across the industry.
About Icovamenib
Icovamenib is an investigational, orally bioavailable, potent, and selective covalent inhibitor of menin. The proposed mechanism of action for icovamenib in diabetes is selective and partial inhibition of menin, a regulator of beta cell quantity and function, thereby enabling the proliferation, preservation, and reactivation of a patient's own healthy, functional, insulin-producing beta cells. As the first non-chronic therapy for T2D, icovamenib could become an important addition to the diabetes treatment landscape once it has successfully completed its ongoing clinical studies.
About Menin's Role in Diabetes
Loss of functional beta cell mass is a core component of the natural history in both types of diabetes — type 1 diabetes (mediated by autoimmune dysfunction) and T2D (mediated by metabolic dysfunction). Beta cells are found in the pancreas and are responsible for the synthesis and secretion of insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps the body use glucose for energy and helps control blood glucose levels. In patients with diabetes, beta cell mass and function have been observed to be diminished, leading to insufficient insulin secretion and hyperglycemia. Menin is thought to act as a brake on beta cell turnover and growth, supporting the notion that inhibition of menin could lead to the regeneration of normal, healthy beta cells. Based on these and other scientific findings, Biomea is exploring the potential for icovamenib-mediated menin inhibition as a viable therapeutic approach to treat T2D.
About Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes is considered a chronic health condition that affects how the body turns food into energy and results in excessive glucose in the bloodstream. Over time, this can cause serious health problems and damage vital organs. Most people with diabetes have a shorter life expectancy than people without this disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates about two in five adults in the United States are now expected to develop diabetes during their lifetime. More than 38 million people of all ages (about 11% of the US population) have diabetes today. 98 million adults (more than one in three) have prediabetes, blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. Diabetes is also one of the largest economic burdens on the United States health care system with one out of every four dollars in US health care spending on caring for people with diabetes. Despite the current availability of many diabetes medications, there remains a significant need in the treatment and care of patients with diabetes.
About Severe Insulin-Deficient Diabetes
Within the population of people with T2D, severe insulin deficient diabetes is a clinically recognized subtype of T2D characterized by profoundly impaired insulin secretion (significantly reduced beta cell function) and poor glycemic control. People with diabetes with severe insulin deficiency often present with higher HbA1c levels at diagnosis, lower body mass index compared to insulin-resistant patients, and a rapid decline in beta cell function. This group represents a very high unmet medical need, with the highest risk of complications such as retinopathy and neuropathy, and typically progresses the fastest to insulin therapy. Addressing the underlying beta cell dysfunction in this population offers an important opportunity to slow or potentially reverse disease progression.
About Biomea Fusion
Biomea Fusion is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing oral small molecule therapies, icovamenib and BMF-650, for diabetes and obesity. These programs target metabolic disorders, a global health challenge affecting nearly half of Americans and one-fifth of the world's population. Biomea's mission is to deliver transformative treatments that restore health for patients living with diabetes, obesity, and related conditions. We aim to cure.
Visit us at www.biomeafusion.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X and Facebook.
Contact:
Meichiel Jennifer Weiss
Sr. Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Development
ir@biomeafusion.com
