Obesity

Thema:
Efficient drug development

Our flagship TNO Ldlr-/-.Leiden model closely reflects the metabolic dysfunction underlying human obesity and its multi-organ complications. When fed energy-dense diets without requiring added cholesterol, these mice develop obesity, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia, resulting in complications that affect the liver, vasculature, adipose tissue, brain, gut, and skeletal muscle. The model has been validated with a broad range of clinically relevant interventions, including GLP-1 receptor agonists and FGF21 analogs. This makes our Ldlr-/-.Leiden model a powerful translational platform for evaluating therapies targeting obesity and its multi-organ complications.

Key capabilities

Study types

Tailor-made efficacy studies for targeted pathways and mechanisms

Model

Ldlr-/-.Leiden

Output

High quality efficacy data to support informed decision-making

A powerful model to study multi-organ metabolic disease

TNO supports pharmaceutical and biotech organizations in evaluating therapies targeting obesity and its associated metabolic diseases. Combining our Ldlr-/-.Leiden model with integrated multi-organ read-outs, we generate translational datasets that provide insight into disease progression and treatment response across tissues. Our tailor-made efficacy and mechanism-of-action studies are designed around your specific research questions and supported by a broad range of mechanistic endpoints, enabling informed go/no-go decisions throughout drug development.

30+

years of preclinical metabolic disease expertise

100+

completed efficacy studies across disease indications

100+

pharma, nutritional & biotech partners

60+

peer-reviewed publications

Key advantages

Translational efficacy models

Validated mouse model capturing multi-organ metabolic dysfunction observed in human obesity.

Multi-organ readouts

Integrated assessment across liver, adipose tissue, vasculature, gut, and brain.

Flexible study designs

Support for both preventive (progression) and therapeutic (regression) study setups.

End-to-end expertise

From study design and execution to data analysis and interpretation.

AI-powered histopathology

Our AI-based histopathology platform enables standardised, fast, and high-throughput quantification of liver pathology, including steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis. This reduces inter- and intra-observer variability and improves sensitivity to detect treatment effects. The platform can be applied to both TNO-generated and externally generated histology samples.

Read more

Use cases

Drug efficacy testing

Assess treatment effects on MASH progression or regression including fibrosis up to stage F3.

Mechanism of action studies

Investigate how compounds influence metabolic, inflammatory, and fibrotic processes.

Biomarker & endpoint validation

Generate translational datasets to support biomarker strategies.

5-step process

  • Study design

    Step 1

    We collaborate with you to define a study tailored to your compound, research questions, and selected endpoints, ensuring a clear and relevant experimental setup.

  • Model-diet selection

    Step 2

    Based on your compound characteristics, we select the most appropriate model-diet combination to maximise relevance and predictive value.

  • In-life phase

    Step 3

    The study is executed with compound administration (e.g. diet, PO, SC, IP, IV) under controlled conditions, including regular monitoring and interim data readouts.

  • Analysis

    Step 4

    We offer extensive efficacy and mechanistic readouts, combining expert pathological assessment with AI driven image analysis, alongside biochemistry, imaging, omics, and biomarker profiling.

  • Reporting

    Step 5

    Results can be summarized in a comprehensive report with expert interpretation to guide decision-making and next steps in development.

Choose the right preclinical research partner

TNO bridges the gap between preclinical obesity research and clinical outcomes. Our model captures multi-organ disease complexity and is continuously validated against clinical data, ensuring high translational relevance.

  • Proven translatability through clinically aligned mouse models
  • Multi-organ disease insight in a single model
  • Ethical and responsible research execution
  • Clear, actionable data to support decision-making

Ready to accelerate your obesity research?

Get in touch to discuss your research objectives and explore how TNO can design and execute a tailored preclinical obesity study for your compound.

In an initial discussion, we:

  • align on your research objective
  • propose suitable model-diet combinations and study design
  • provide a first outline and indicative cost range