Clinical-stage biotechnology company Kalohexis Inc announced on Monday that data supporting dual melanocortin-3 receptor/melanocortin-4 receptor (MC3R/MC4R) activation as a novel mechanism to drive healthier, more durable weight loss has been featured in an oral presentation at the Endocrine Society's Annual Meeting (ENDO 2026) in Chicago, IL.

The presenting author, Jillian L. Seiler, Ph.D., lead scientist at Endevica Bio, which spun out Kalohexis in March 2026, was also selected for the Rising Stars Power Talks, a research communication competition at ENDO 2026 designed for early career and in-training members with top-scoring abstracts.

The oral presentation highlighted an orally available dual MC3R/MC4R agonist that reduced caloric intake and induced significant weight loss in nonhuman primates with diet-induced obesity. Chronic oral dosing achieved 11.8% weight loss versus vehicle over 15 weeks and was followed by limited weight rebound after treatment cessation, with preferential fat mass loss and relative sparing of lean mass. Given historical concerns around cardiovascular liability with melanocortin agonists, telemetry monitoring showed no changes in heart rate, blood pressure, or QTc over 24 hours at doses up to 60 mg/kg PO. Together, these data support dual MC3R/MC4R activation as a strategy to enable meaningful weight loss with favourable weight-loss quality and limited rebound in obese primates, while addressing key limitations that have historically hindered selective MC4R agonist approaches, Kalohexis said.