The drug is based on research carried out in MIT by Giovanni Traverso, a gastroenterologist and mechanical engineer and Robert Langer, a chemical engineer who introduced over two dozen biotechnology companies to the market.
Both discovered the mechanism while working on developing liquid drug preparations that could be handed over to children. Soon they realized that they could make this transient synthesis coating more or less permeable to escalate absorption or ponderous it down. The latter ability was attractive as a treatment of obesity.
“This material is something that you would accept as a capsule or liquid, but the next day it disappeared due to the natural rotation of our mucosa surface in the digestive tract,” says Traverso. He and Langer co -founded Syntis of Dhand in 2022. He equates this coating to what mussels and other crustaceans employ to stick to the rocks or ocean floor.
In the results announced, Syntis was supplied in a liquid form via the tube directly to the diminutive intestine, so that scientists could check whether the polymer coating was formed as expected. The form of the tablet has already been tested in pigs and dogs and it is Syntis that plans to test in future people’s research.
In rats, the drug caused a coherent 1 percent of weekly weight loss during a six -week examination, maintaining 100 percent of lean muscle mass.
In a pilot study from the first people in nine participants, the drug was secure without side effects. Tissue samples taken from the intestine were used to confirm that the coating formed and was also cleaned of the body within 24 hours. The study was not designed to assess weight loss, but blood studies have shown that after administration of the drug, glucose levels and the “hunger” hormone were lower, while leptin levels, hormone regulating appetite were higher.
“When the nutrients are redirected to the later intestine, you activate the paths that lead to satiety, energy expenses and generally healthy, sustainable weight loss,” says Dhanda.
The discoveries of Syntis Bio in animals also indicate the potential of the drug for weight loss without prejudice to muscle mass, one of the fears of current GLP-1 drugs. While weight loss is associated with many health benefits, there is development evidence This type of drastic weight loss caused by GLP-1S can also lead to lossless muscle mass.
Louis Aronne, an obesity medicine specialist and a professor of metabolic research at Weill-Cornell Medical College, says that although GLP-1 is very popular, they may not be suitable for everyone. He predicts that in the not very distant future there will be many drugs for obesity and treatment will be more personalized. “I think that the syntis relationship fits perfectly as a treatment that can be used early. This is something that can be used as a first -line drug,” he says. Arrone serves as a company clinical advisor.
Vladimir Kushnir, professor of medicine and director of Bariatric Endoscopy at Washington University in St. Louis, who is not involved in Syntis, claims that early pilot data are encouraging, but it is challenging to draw conclusions from such a diminutive study. He expects the drug to make people feel more complete, but they may also have some of the same side effects as the stomach circumventing surgery. “I expect that this will have some digestive side effects, such as flatulence and abdominal cramps, as well as potentially some diarrhea and nausea when it goes to a greater examination,” he says.
These are early days for this pioneering technique, but if it turns out to be effective, it can be an alternative or additional drug for GLP-1 drugs.