Although GPP-1 injected drugs are incredibly effective in promoting weight loss, they also occur with some disadvantages. There may be gastrointestinal side effects and loss of muscle mass. Drugs are also expensive, $ 1,000 a month or more in the United States before insurance. Pharmaceutical companies are interested in developing anti-obesity tablets due to their relatively cheap cost to make as compared to injectables and the fact that some patients prefer to take a pill.
“There is still a satisfied clinical need, and this is where Eolo wants to help,” says María Pía Garat, the director general of the company.
Eolo did not exactly set out to make a weight loss pill. Company researchers sought to develop a drug to guide inflammation, especially the type in obesity and type 2 diabetes. But when they began to test their experimental drug in mice, it not only improved inflammation, but also resulted in a reduction in body weight while on a diet rich in fat. They have done experiments up to nine months and found that the mice ended their initial weight, even while they were still eating the same fat -rich diet.
In mice, Sana also retained lean muscle mass. Magnetic resonance science shows that healthy mice treated with a larger percentage of lean body mass compared to controls, despite substantial fat loss.
“We already had stimulants to try to increase your caloric production,” says Hans Schmidt, head of bariatric surgery and co -director of the Center for Metabolic Health Loss and Health at Hackensack University Medical Center, which was not involved in the study.
One of these was the combination of Fenfluramina-Fentermine drugs, known as Fen-Phen, which was sold in the 1990’s for weight loss, but was withdrawn to the market for heart damage. “Those who work in general metabolism. They make you moody, they make you energized. It seems to be working specifically at the cellular level in fat cells,” he says.
Of course, Eolo’s study was very small and the medicine will have to be tested in more people to better understand its effects. The company plans a phase II trial at the end of this year, which will include about 100 participants with obesity and will follow them for 12 weeks. They expect to make this judgment in the United States. Garat believes that Eolo’s drug could be used as an autonomous approach or in combination with GLP-1 drugs to produce more weight loss.
“ Right now we are bringing a backhoe to the construction site when we need many more tools. We need more mechanisms like this one that works on paths other than appetite, ” says Angela Fitch, former president of the Averse Medical Association and the Medical Co -Founder and Meeting of Known, a primary care company specializing in obesity care. Fitch is not involved with eolo.
The current GLPs can achieve a weight loss up to 20 percent, and although this may be enough for some patients, others may still have to lose more to reach a healthy weight. “New Medicines,” he says, “they have the opportunity to have an even greater impact.”
