Sources inform ''Globes'' that start up Gelesis Inc., which is developing a pill to treat obesity, is in advanced talks for a multimillion deal with a big pharma company to jointly develop the product.
Gelesis's pill expands in the stomach to give the sensation of being full, thereby reducing food intake and resulting in weight loss. The company, founded in 2006, is examining the results of its recently completed an efficacy clinical trial, and is due to publish them soon. Although the company had the option of presenting the product to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a nutritional supplement or medical device, it opted to present it as a medication, on the assumption that, if approved, the product's profit margins would be higher. Even so, because the pill does not enter the body's cells or affect them, the approval process should be fairly straightforward.
The sources said that, under the pending agreement, a foreign company will provide Gelesis with a down payment and milestone payments amounting to tens of millions of dollars. The big pharma company will finance all of Gelesis's future clinical trials on the product and pay royalties on sales. The full value of the agreement could reach hundreds of millions of dollars.
Gelesis was founded by CEO Yishai Zohar at Boston-based incubator PureTech Ventures, and has raised $23 million to date from Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK), OrbiMed Advisors LLC, Israeli advanced hybrid composite materials developer ExoTech Bio Solutions Ltd., and Australia's Queensland Biocapital Funds. Headquartered in Boston, Gelesis has an Israeli development center.
Gelesis's pill is made from indigestible edible fiber taken before a meal. The pills inflate in contact with water, make food more viscous, keeping it in the stomach longer, and creating the sense of being sated. The pills gradually biodegrade, releasing the liquids, which are excreted through the intestine, but only after keeping the food viscous, reducing the intestine's ability to absorb fats and sugars from the food.
In a study on 95 people several years ago, many reported a sense of being sated, and only 16% said that they felt discomfort, such as stomach aches or nausea. It may be possible to reduce these side effects by personalizing the dosage.
The obesity treatment market currently includes various appetite suppressants, but the leading solution for morbid obesity is stomach bypass or reduction surgery. Although other products for filling the stomach are under development, Gelesis's edge is that its product works with food.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 11, 2013
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