In 2007, Drug giant Glaxo purchased Sirtris Pharmaceuticals for $720 Million.  Sirtris is now in the test phase of several drugs for the treatment of Cancer and Diabetes, based on the Resveratrol molecule. Sirtris gets its name from the well know ability of Resveratrol to activate the SIRT genes, which produce the Sirtuin enzymes.  Resveratrol is one of many Polyphenols found in red wine grapes which are believed to underlie the “French Paradox,” the observation that people in France live longer and healthier than others, despite a high-calorie, high-fat diet.

Although Glaxo is still years away from having an FDA approved drug for sale, Pfizer, a major Glaxo competitor, has begun the competitive battle, casting doubt on Glaxo’s claims.  Yet Pfizer’s own researcher, Dr. Kay Ahn was quoted in an article last month in Nature magazine, and downplayed the significance of her study.  “Under our conditions we didn’t see beneficial effects, but we don’t want to make a big conclusion out of those results,” she said.

Glaxo said in a statement that “scientific debate around the interpretation of data is a normal part of discovery in emerging areas of research.” It maintains that Pfizer’s interpretation of data “is at odds with multiple studies conducted at Sirtris and those published by independent investigators.” The company added that the “purity of the compounds that were used in their study … cannot be ascertained due to the lack of data provided. The publication also does not cite nor discuss multiple scientific publications which are in direct contrast to their primary conclusions; as such it is unclear how to place this work in perspective of what has been found by other investigators.”

Vinomis Laboratories, makers of the over-the-counter supplement Vindure 900, based on Resveratrol, Quercetin, and other red wine grape polyphenols, reports that their customers are reporting results consistent with the Resveratrol studies done at Harvard Medical School.  Says Barry Yarkoni, CEO, “whether the benefits are the result of Sirtuin activation will be the subject of much ongoing research.  However, the benefits that people are experiencing from our product are very real regardless of what scientists determine the exact mechanisms to be.”

Filed under: News, Science, resveratrol