Nanomedicine company, Arrowhead Research Corp. (Nasdaq: ARWR) announced on Thursday that data from its subsidiary’s obesity drug demonstrated weight loss, reduction in body mass index and abdominal circumference in obese rhesus monkeys.

The data, which was published in Science Translational Medicine (Sci Trans Med 3, 108ra112 (2011) DOI: 10.1126/scitraslmed-3002621), demonstrates that monkeys treated with Adipotide lost an average of 11 percent of their body weight after only four weeks of treatment.

Adipotide-treated animals also showed marked improvements in insulin resistance, suggesting the potential for use in treating type-2 diabetes.

Shares of the Pasadena-based Arrowhead Research Corp. touched a new 52-week high of $1.19 on Thursday, up 120 percent from Wednesday’s c losing price of $0.54.

“Safely and effectively treating the obesity epidemic is one of the great unmet needs in medicine today,” said Dr. Christopher Anzalone, President and Chief Executive Officer of Arrowhead in a November 10 press release. “This study is a radical step forward for both Ablaris’ technology and the treatment of obesity.It is uncommon for an obesity treatment to be successfully translated from rodent studies to non-human primates. Ablaris’ approach is distinguished from others in the field by its unique mode of action. By acting directly on the vasculature that supports fat tissue rather than on the brain, we believe that we can avoid many of the safety issues that have blocked other anti-obesity drug candidates. We are extremely encouraged by the results achieved to date with Adipotide and believe that Ablaris’ unique technology offers a significant advantage to combating obesity as we prepare to enter the clinic in the near-term.”