‘Golden age’ weight-loss pill that mimics gastric bypass op is hailed a ‘miracle’ – and said to be better than fat jabs
A pill that mimics the effect of a gastric bypass has been touted as the latest weight loss miracle – and may even be more effective than fat jabs in the long term.
The capsules produce a temporary coating in the gut that prevents food from being absorbed, forcing it into the lower intestine and triggering hormones that make you feel full.
Its manufacturers say it may have advantages over weight-loss injections such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, including having fewer side effects and being easier to take.
It is also far safer and less invasive than actual gastric bypass surgery.
Rahul Dhanda, chief executive of Syntis Bio, makers of the pill, said: ‘The problem is [fat jabs] are not very tolerable and patients want to come off them.
‘You want to have a long-term maintenance therapy, and an oral pill is the rational choice because it’s simple, tolerable and safe.
The capsules produce a temporary coating in the gut that prevents food from being absorbed, forcing it into the lower intestine and triggering hormones that make you feel full
‘What we’re seeing now is patients and clinics being more focused on having something safe and sustainable to keep on a manageable, sustainable weight-loss path.
‘I anticipate the side effects to be minimal to none, and we haven’t seen any yet in human tests. That is because it doesn’t enter the bloodstream like injections do.
‘It’s a mechanical molecule, so it’s like we’re inserting a stent, as opposed to a drug that is acting with the target, and also off the target.’
By binding to the mucous membrane lining of the duodenum – the top of the intestine near the stomach – the pills create a barrier that stops calories being absorbed.
It forces food directly into the lower part of the digestive system, the pills set off a ‘cascade’ of hormones including GLP-1, the same chemical mimicked by semaglutide jab Wegovy.
It also causes the body to stop producing ghrelin, which makes you feel hungry, and start producing leptin, which makes you feel satisfied.
Manufacturers say it may have advantages over weight-loss injections such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, including having fewer side effects and being easier to take
The person taking the pill feels full more quickly and stops eating.
The coating created by the pill sheds naturally after about 24 hours, leaving no trace.
The effect is similar to gastric bypass, in which surgeons make the stomach smaller and shorten the small intestine, changing how the body absorbs food and leaving people feeling fuller after eating less.
In rats, the drug caused the animals to lose 1 per cent of their bodyweight per week while preserving 100 per cent of their lean muscle mass.
Trials in humans have not studied weight loss but found the pills cause no harmful side effects.
If they prove effective in further trials, the pills could help patients maintain a healthy weight after intensive weight-loss with jabs, or replace the injections entirely.
Dr Louis Aronne of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City told the conference that a ‘golden age’ of treatment had begun with these new drugs.
The Times reported he was pushing for health providers, including the NHS, to ‘roll them out at scale’, addding: ‘I think use of drugs like this will prevent the need for many other medications, procedures, and surgeries.
‘We are just beginning to see in how many ways they can help.’
