AT A GLANCE
- STAT on Google’s health tech spinout Verily pivoting to offer GLP-1 drug prescriptions.
- MIT biotech legend Bob Langer and colleague Giovanni Traverso launched Syntis Bio, with a technology to coat the stomach, that impacts obesity.
- From Yahoo! Finance, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s asset-management arm raised a $500 million fund to invest in weight-loss drugs.
- From Reuters, roughly one-third of US employer health plans are covering GLP-1 meds for both diabetes and weight loss.
- Yasmin Tayag at The Atlantic writes ‘…There’s no such thing as a miracle cure for weight loss, but the latest obesity drugs seem to come pretty close…’
- The SYNERGY-NASH trial in The New England Journal of Medicine of 190 patients with MASH, led to resolution In 44% to 62% of those treated on varying doses of tirzetapide, compared to 10% on the placebo drug, at one year.
- From The New England Journal of Medicine study of 293 participants, improvement in MASH with no worsening of fibrosis occurred in 47% to 62% of those survodutide, compared with 14% of those in the placebo group, at 48 weeks.
- The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology on ‘…an almost 40% increase in 5 years in the number of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the UK who were younger than 40 years…’ from Diabetes UK.
NEWS
- STAT on Google’s health tech spinout Verily pivoting from Onduo to Lightpath Metabolic, to include programs for people with diabetes and hypertension, and offer GLP-1 drug prescriptions.
- Lightpath, to be available in 2026 will ‘…use artificial intelligence and data from devices such as continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices to personalize the care.’
- Reporter Brittany Tang writes this to be ‘…a surprisingly unoriginal choice for a venture that began its life with a goal to defeat Mother Nature.’
- MIT biotech legend Bob Langer and colleague Giovanni Traverso launched Syntis Bio, based on a technology that can coat the stomach, to impact obesity.
- SYNT-101 plans to coat the small intestine to block nutrients from being absorbed, and trigger natural production of the satiety hormones GLP-1 and PYY.
- This is not a new approach, and has been tried with the GI Dynamics EndoBarrier PTFE liner, as well as Fractyl Health’s duodenal mucosal ablation device – neither have been commercially successful to date.
- Glyscend Therapeutics has a similar approach to Syntis, with a polymer therapeutic platform, with phase 2 trial results expected early next year.
- The company announced a $15.5 million seed financing round; in addition, Dr. Louis Aronne at Weill-Cornell Medical College, and Dr. Ania Jastreboff at Yale University are named as clinical advisors – both of whom have led landmark GLP-1 clinical trials on behalf of Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
- From Yahoo! Finance, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s asset-management arm raised more than $500 million for a biotech venture-capital fund that will bet on the hottest corner of health care: weight-loss drugs.
- Chief investment officer Steve Squinto, said ‘…the top three choices are obesity, obesity and obesity.’
- Gaurav Gupta, the fund’s managing partner added ‘…It’s very unlikely that the future of obesity treatment will be dominated by a stable duopoly…’ in reference to the stronghold in this space from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
- From Reuters, roughly one-third of US employer health plans are covering GLP-1 meds for both diabetes and weight loss, from the International Foundation of Employer Benefit Plans, a sharp rise from 26% last year.
- In addition, some 57% of employers cover the drugs only for diabetes care, with 19% considering offering the drugs for weight loss.
OPINION
- Dr. Robert Kushner, obesity medicine physician at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine states the ‘…typical weight management program is female predominant in our clinic. It’s almost two out of three patients are women, and that’s pretty much common across the country.’
- U.S. data from IQVIA notes female patients accounted for at least 78% of total prescriptions for Wegovy and 76% or more total prescriptions for Zepbound.
- The paradox is that obesity rates for men and women are no different.
- The Reuters article ‘…attributed the gender difference in part to social and cultural expectations that give men a pass on weighing more.’
- Yasmin Tayag at The Atlantic writes ‘…There’s no such thing as a miracle cure for weight loss, but the latest obesity drugs seem to come pretty close…’ with a growing mystique.
- There are clear benefits on cardiovascular disease such stroke and heart attack, sleep apnea, kidney disease, and liver disease, with additional potential impact for those with fertility issues, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, colorectal cancer, alcohol overuse, and even nail-biting.
- Is there anything Ozempic can’t do?
- Writing in JAMA Surgery, clinicians from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN want to rethink the approach to treating obesity, toward ‘…a comprehensive multidisciplinary evaluation that considers surgical, medical, and combined therapies, ultimately leading to improved and durable outcomes.’
- From going beyond BMI as a metric, significant variation in clinical response of drug and surgical therapies, toward ‘…a holistic paradigm shift…’. That is in line with ‘… multidisciplinary oncology clinics and the management of gastroesophageal reflux… for all available obesity therapies—medical, endoscopic, psychosocial, and surgical.’
- I fully agree that the ‘…evolution of obesity treatment demands a transformative shift toward evidence-based, multidisciplinary care paradigms.’
- Thank you!
DATA
- Metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is a progressive liver disease associated with liver-related complications and death. A phase 2 randomized trial published data on the SYNERGY-NASH trial in The New England Journal of Medicine; from 190 patients with MASH, there was resolution In 44% to 62% of those treated on varying doses of tirzetapide, compared to 10% on the placebo drug, at one year.
- Mean body weight loss was right up to 15.6% for those on 15-mg tirzepatide, as compared to 0.8% in the placebo group.
- This is an important study, with approximately 22 million adult Americans are estimated to live with MASH, of whom nearly 9 million individuals live with clinically significant liver disease [F2/F3] – the group that were the focus of this clinical trial.
- Lesser-known obesity med survodutide, licensed to Boehringer Ingelheim from Zealand Pharma, and a dual agonist of glucagon receptor and GLP-1 receptors, was evaluated in persons with MASH and liver fibrosis.
- From The New England Journal of Medicine study of 293 participants, improvement in MASH with no worsening of fibrosis occurred in 47% to 62% of those survodutide, compared with 14% of those in the placebo group, at 48 weeks.
- These results indeed support the potential for survodutide as a treatment for patients with MASH and liver fibrosis.
- Of note, the glucagon agonist component in survodutide has the potential to increase energy expenditure and has a direct impact in the liver, which could contribute to the improvement of fibrosis, with the GLP-1 agonist component driving decreased appetite while increasing fullness and satiety.
- In JAMA Network Open, clinicians from Israel reviewed over six thousand patients with diabetes and obesity, who underwent bariatric surgery or received GLP-1 meds.
- For those with diabetes duration of ten years or less, mortality was 68% lower for the bariatric surgery group, mediated via greater weight loss; risk of non-fatal major adverse cardiovascular events did not differ between the two groups.
- One limitation is that patients were on older generation GLP-1 meds, such as liraglutide or exenatide, rather than the more powerful semaglutide and tirzetapide drugs.
- However, this data underscores the necessity for physicians to discuss medication and surgical therapies for obesity in patients with diabetes sooner rather later, to achieve greater impact.
- The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology on ‘…an almost 40% increase in 5 years in the number of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the UK who were younger than 40 years…’ from Diabetes UK.
- In addition, type 2 diabetes disproportionately impacts people from socially deprived areas and minority ethnic groups, with these inequalities being more pronounced at younger ages.
- In the USA, at age 50 years, individuals with type 2 diabetes diagnosed at age 30 years died, on average, 14 years earlier than those without diabetes.
- Sadly though, the Editorial points to a reform of a broken food system; this is futile – we need to focus upon treatments to impact those with diabetes or pre-diabetes first, such as lifestyle, medication and surgical therapies.
ADDITIONAL TOPICS
- The International Journal of Obesity publishes Obesity, psychological well-being related measures, and risk of seven non-communicable diseases: evidence from longitudinal studies of UK and US older adults
- Senior Pastor W. Franklyn Richardson writes in STAT on How faith leaders like me can help address America’s obesity epidemic
- STAT reports on Bernie Sanders calls vote to subpoena Novo Nordisk U.S. head over Ozempic, Wegovy prices
- The Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker on Insurer strategies to control costs associated with weight loss drugs
- Freight Waves notes Illegal Ozempic shipments enter US through e-commerce sales
- Modern Healthcare on Insurers, providers weigh GLP-1 demand at AHIP 2024
- Bloomberg reports Michigan’s largest insurer to drop weight-loss drug coverage, affecting nearly 10,000 people.
