PureTech Founded Entity Gelesis Announces Two Presentations at ObesityWeek 2022
Dr. Frank Greenway presents data from the LIGHT-UP study with Gelesis’ oral hydrogel treatment GS200
Waist to Height Ratio, known to be correlated with insulin resistance & metabolic syndrome, was a predictor of weight loss response in the LIGHT-UP study based on a post-hoc analysis
As previously reported, the LIGHT-UP study met its primary endpoint with 6 out of 10 responding to the treatment, achieving an average of 11% weight loss and 5.6 inches reduction of their waist within only 25 weeks
Gelesis also presents data demonstrating that Gelesis’ investigational clinical-stage oral superabsorbent hydrogel Gel-B preferentially enhances the growth of Akkermansia muciniphila in preclinical models compared to prebiotics
Akkermansia muciniphila has/have been associated with thickened mucosal lining of the gut, improved gut barrier function, and lean body mass
PureTech Health plc (Nasdaq: PRTC, LSE: PRTC) (“PureTech” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company, noted today that its Founded Entity, Gelesis Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GLS) (“Gelesis”) the maker of Plenity for weight management, announced two presentations at ObesityWeek 2022 in San Diego.
Frank L. Greenway, MD, Medical Director and Professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University and the principal investigator of the LIGHT-UP study, will give an oral presentation on Wednesday, November 2 at 4:00pm PDT. The data support Waist to Height Ratio as a potential biomarker to help predict weight loss response with GS200 treatment in people with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.
Considering the previously reported findings from the LIGHT-UP study, the significant improvement in fasting insulin and postprandial insulin response, as well as the notable reduction in waist circumference (secondary endpoints), a post hoc analysis was conducted to explore whether abdominal fat affects the level of weight loss response with the novel hydrogel treatment. Waist to Height Ratio was used for this analysis as it represents a simple metric for body shape and potential abdominal fat, known to be associated with insulin resistance & metabolic syndrome.
Gelesis also released new data from a study that investigated how an oral superabsorbent hydrogel (Gel-B or GS200) increases Akkermansia muciniphila in comparison to two prebiotics, inulin, and psyllium. A. muciniphila is a bacteria associated with thickened mucosal lining of the gut, that encourages improved gut barrier function, and lean body mass.
Gelesis, along with collaborators at Humanitas University in Milan, Italy, also examined how Gel-B supports growth of A. muciniphila in an animal model. The group found that A. muciniphila grows in the presence of Gel-B as early as two weeks post-treatment. The study provides further support of the hypothesis that the physical structure of the oral superabsorbent hydrogels and its specific mechanical properties (e.g, level of elasticity) provides the environment to supports the growth of A. muciniphila.
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About PureTech Health
PureTech is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing highly differentiated medicines for devastating diseases, including inflammatory, fibrotic and immunological conditions, intractable cancers, lymphatic and gastrointestinal diseases and neurological and neuropsychological disorders, among others. The Company has created a broad and deep pipeline through the expertise of its experienced research and development team and its extensive network of scientists, clinicians and industry leaders.
This pipeline, which is being advanced both internally and through PureTech's Founded Entities, is comprised of 27 therapeutics and therapeutic candidates, including two that have received both U.S. FDA clearance and European marketing authorization, as of the date of PureTech's most recently filed Annual Report and corresponding Form 6-K. All of the underlying programs and platforms that resulted in this pipeline of therapeutic candidates were initially identified or discovered and then advanced by the PureTech team through key validation points based on unique insights in immunology and drug development.
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