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Namesake of PF-05231023: how nomenclature confusion leads to experimental misinterpretation in pharmacologic research

Neuropsychopharmacology (2025)Cite this article

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We write to highlight a critical issue in Cooley et al. [1], recently published in Neuropsychopharmacology. The authors intended to assess the effect of PF-05231023, a FGF21 mimetics, on alcohol consumption and reward circuit activity, but utilized a completely different molecule sharing the same nomenclature. This problem is not unique to Cooley et al.; similar issues have persisted for years, with independent research groups across multiple journals recurrently making the same error. Consequently, it has led to significant misinterpretations and inconsistencies in data interpretation, hindering the advancement of pharmacology field.

PF-05231023 was originally developed by Pfizer as a mimetic of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). FGF21 has shown promising therapeutic potential in metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and inflammatory conditions. However, its short half-life poses a clinical challenge. To overcome this limitation, PF-05231023 (initially designated as CVX-343) was engineered as a divalent FGF21 analog conjugated to the Fc fragment of scaffold antibody CVX-2000 [2], extending its half-life up to 70-folds while preserving its biological activity [2,3,4]. Since its development, multiple preclinical and clinical trials have investigated its efficacy and safety. As of July 2025, a PubMed search retrieved 18 papers on PF-05231023, including the original development study.

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References

  1. Cooley BJ, Occelli Hanbury-Brown CV, Choi EA, Heller WA, Lim AW, Lawrence AJ, et al. FGF21 analogue PF-05231023 on alcohol consumption and neuronal activity in the nucleus accumbens. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-025-02133-z.

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  2. Huang J, Ishino T, Chen G, Rolzin P, Osothprarop TF, Retting K, et al. Development of a novel long-acting antidiabetic FGF21 mimetic by targeted conjugation to a scaffold antibody. J Pharm Exp Ther. 2013;346:270–80.

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  3. Weng Y, Chabot JR, Bernardo B, Yan Q, Zhu Y, Brenner MB, et al. Pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD) and integrated PK/PD modeling of a novel long acting FGF21 clinical candidate PF-05231023 in diet-induced obese and leptin-deficient obese mice. PLoS One. 2015;10:e0119104.

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  4. Dong JQ, Rossulek M, Somayaji VR, Baltrukonis D, Liang Y, Hudson K, et al. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of PF-05231023, a novel long-acting FGF21 mimetic, in a first-in-human study. Br J Clin Pharm. 2015;80:1051–63.

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Funding

This work was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean Government (Ministry of Science and ICT, RS-2023-00208193 and RS-2024-00406845 to YTJ), by a grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare (RS-2024-00403511 to D-HK).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Dong-Hoon Kim & Yong Taek Jeong

  2. BK21 Graduate Program, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Dong-Hoon Kim & Yong Taek Jeong

Authors
  1. Dong-Hoon Kim
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  2. Yong Taek Jeong
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Contributions

D-HK and YTJ developed the study initial concept, performed the data collection and drafted the initial correspondence manuscript. All authors approved the final letter.

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Correspondence to Yong Taek Jeong.

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Kim, DH., Jeong, Y.T. Namesake of PF-05231023: how nomenclature confusion leads to experimental misinterpretation in pharmacologic research. Neuropsychopharmacol. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-025-02231-y

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