This will turn on the genes that get activated during workouts, even if no exercise is being done, helping you to burn fat.
If successful, the drug - meant to help those who are physically unable to go to the gym - could help battle both diabetes and the fast-growing obesity epidemic.
Dr Thomas Burris and Dr John Walker, from the department of pharmacology and physiology at Saint Louis University, in Missouri, have received more than $4 million in a series of grants.
This will fund the study of two receptors that are linked to muscle metabolism: REV-ERB and ERR.
In past studies conducted by Dr Burris, a drug developed to target REV-ERB acted like an exercise mimic.
And genetic studies with ERR suggest that it also may be a good target for the development of exercise-mimicking drugs.
Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the US, and more than 80 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes are either overweight or obese.
Meanwhile, two in three American adults are overweight or obese, although they may not have diabetes.
Dr Burris and Dr Walker's work combines chemistry and biology to develop new treatments that could offer new options for patients suffering from the burdens of these health threats.
'We can design drugs rather than just study them,' Dr Burris said.
'That's the fun part. We can take the work further toward developing new therapies.'
Exercise provides health benefits that include improving insulin sensitivity and weight control - but the option is not possible for everyone.
'If you exercise, it's effectively a treatment for diabetes and obesity as you increase the metabolic rate of muscle,' Dr Burris said.
'You develop a more efficient muscle. That's what you get from exercise. You develop more endurance and that is good for your metabolic function.
'Our drug compounds are doing similar things. They make muscles look like they're exercising, turning on the genes that get activated during exercise, even if no exercise is happening. Both studies operate this way.'
Scientists in Melbourne, Australia, created a similar drug last year. And while scientists say no drug can recreate all the health benefits of exercise, a pill can reap the muscle benefits for those who are unable to exercise due to disability or poor health.
'In many cases of illness, signaling is off,' Dr Burris said.
'And we can correct signals by dialing the hormone messages up or down, mimicking hormones or blocking them.'
In the two new studies, the researchers aim to optimize drug compounds to dial up muscle metabolism.
But they face some challenges.
While REV-ERB has been proven to promote weight loss and improved metabolic function in animals, it also has effects on the brain - which researchers want to avoid.
And ERR is an orphan receptor, meaning scientists don't know what its natural ligand is.
The ligand is the molecule that binds to the receptor and regulates its activity. Some man-made ligands have been created, but they are not yet perfected for use in disease models.
'We've designed some agonists to see what their effect is,' Dr Walker said.
'Most of the data suggests that more ERR is better, the most useful in terms of muscle metabolism. These agonists look as though they'll be useful in models of obesity and diabetes.'
In addition to showing promise for obesity and diabetes, the study will examine how improvements to muscle metabolism may affect muscular dystrophy.
'WORKOUT PILL' THAT TRICKS YOUR BODY INTO THINKING YOU WENT TO THE GYM
Australian scientists have developed an exercise pill that tricks the body into responding as though it's been to the gym.
It sounds too good to be true but Deakin University researchers say it's the real deal.
It could soon help save the lives of obese people with heart disease and diabetes
The drug works by keeping certain genes - which allow for increased fat burning during exercise - switched on all the time.
This will allow subjects to become more efficient at pumping blood, and decreases blood sugar levels which will in turn decrease the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
/Daily Mail/
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