BullFrog AI Holdings, Inc. announced the launch of a preclinical study to evaluate the efficacy of its drug candidate BF-114 in obesity. The study, which will be conducted in collaboration with Randy Seeley, Ph.D., the Henry King Ransom Endowed Professor of Surgery at Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of University of Michigan, and Director of the Michigan Nutrition Obesity Research Center, is designed to evaluate the ability of BF-114 to modulate obesity in an established animal model and to elucidate the mechanism of action (MOA). The study is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2024 and will complement internal activities that leverage the Company's AI platform to identify and address new pathways for targeting obesity and metabolic diseases.

BF-114 is a siRNA molecule that targets Beta-II Spectrin (SPTBN1) and has shown promising results in animal models for obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), all of which are areas of significant unmet medical need. Obesity affects over 40% of the US population and is associated with increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. Medical care costs for obesity-related health problems were estimated to be in excess of $170 billion in 2019.