Beyond GLP-1: OrsoBio targets mitochondria to treat metabolic disorders from a new and potentially complementary angle

Emerging from stealth in late 2022, Palo Alto–based biopharma startup OrsoBio announced four development programs targeting severe metabolic disorders. The CEO and founder, Dr. Mani Subramanian and chief medical officer and head of development Dr. Rob Myers formerly worked at Gilead. Founded in 2020 with a quest to “try to modulate energy metabolism in severe metabolic disorders like obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemias, NASH, etc.,” as Myers put it, the company focuses on drug targets that affect fundamental aspects of mitochondrial function. 

To date, OrsoBio has completed a $60 million Series A financing round, bringing its total fundraising total to $97 million. Longitude Capital and Enavate Sciences co-led the fundraising, with significant participation from existing investors Samsara BioCapital and NuevaBio. The round also brought in a notable new investor — Eli Lilly. Lilly’s stock has nearly doubled over the past year, thanks in part to its FDA approval of t…

Read more
  • 0

How Medtronic evaluates its exposure to GLP-1 drugs

Medtronic Chief Scientific, Medical and Regulatory Officer Dr. Laura Mauri drills into GLP-1 drug trial results to estimate their impact across the portfolio.

“We’ve done all the analysis” on GLP-1 drugs across Medtronic’s portfolio, said CEO and Chair Geoff Martha. [Photo courtesy of Medtronic]

The impact of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy on medtech manufacturing is one of the biggest uncertainties heading into 2024.

Industry leaders like Medtronic, Stryker and Intuitive have faced questions from investors about whether these weight loss drugs will reduce demand for certain medical devices and procedures.

Despite a portfolio spanning some of the fields that would seem likely to be affected — such as cardiovascular, diabetes, surgical and neurovascular — Medtronic Chair and CEO Geoff Martha recently said the drugs won’t impact his company’…

Read more
  • 0

Medtronic weighs in on GLP-1 impact for device manufacturers

Medtronic CEO and Chair Geoff Martha [Photo courtesy of Medtronic]

Medtronic is the latest — and largest — device manufacturer to weigh in on GLP-1 weight loss drugs and how they could affect demand for medical devices.

Medtronic Chair and CEO Geoff Martha today said the world’s largest medical device company doesn’t expect GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy to take a big bite out of its business.

While Medtronic said the drugs have had a “modest impact” on the bariatric surgery market, Medtronic thinks that is only temporary. The rate of decline in Medtronic’s bariatric business has already stabilized, Martha said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call, adding, “I think we see that coming back in the coming year.”

“We feel strongly that we don’t see these drugs impacting Medtronic’s growth, medium …

Read more
  • 0

Lilly wraps up acquisition of Versanis, marking the fifth largest pharma deal of 2023

Top 5 biggest M&A deals in the pharmaceutical industry as of August 14, 2023: Pfizer/Seagen ($43B), Biogen/Reata Pharmaceuticals ($7.3B), Astellas Pharma/Iveric Bio ($5.9B), Merck & Co./Prometheus Biosciences ($10.8B), Eli Lilly/Versanis ($1.93B).

Eli Lilly just wrapped up its acquisition of Versanis Bio in a $1.9 billion deal, the pharma giant announced today. The deal marks Lilly’s latest move to build up its pipeline of potential obesity and diabetes treatments, which promises to be a notable growth area for the company. Lilly recently completed its submission of tirzepatide for chronic weight management to the FDA.

The company reported positive Phase 3 results from the SURMOUNT-3 and SURMOUNT-4 studies, showing the highest levels of weight loss observed so far in the SURMOUNT program.

Tirzepatide is a dual glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1…

Read more
  • 0

Scientists report wearable breakthrough in electric control of DNA

 

In what they believe is a wearable breakthrough, researchers stimulated engineered cells to control insulin expression in mice. [Illustration by Nathan Devery via Adobe Stock]

Researchers at ETH Zurich in Switzerland say they’ve made a wearable breakthrough, developing an electrogenetic interface to enable transgene expression in human cells.

They call their work DART, for direct current (DC)-actuated regulation technology. It uses power “to generate non-toxic levels of reactive oxygen species that act via a biosensor to reversibly fine-tune synthetic promoters,” they said in a paper published in Nature Metabolism.

“We designed an electrogenetic interface consisting of genetic components that render human cells responsive to DC-triggered electrostimulation and enable exclusive, DC-adjustable transgene expression,” the researcher said.

The researchers bel…

Read more
  • 0

July 2023 edition: Life-saving LVADs, supplier innovations and AI breakthroughs



LVADs save lives: So why aren’t more available?

What’s new in 3D printing: medical devices, research, innovation, automation and partnerships

AI breakthroughs in medtech: 7 ways to enhance healthcare

Life-saving LVADs, supplier innovations and AI breakthroughs

Kyree Miller recalls the day his heart stopped beating.

“I remember the entire room going white,” he said. “And I actually turned over on my side and I said, ‘Tell my mom I love her.’”

A couple of weeks later, the heart failure patient — who was only in his 20s at the time — received his first left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implant while he waited for a heart transplant. One year passed, then two, then three. Finally, after surviving on LVAD technology for seven years, his new heart came.

“When you get your transplant, there’s a whole new energy that you get. … But I can honestly say there was a whole new energy that I got when I had my LVAD,” Miller said.

Read more
  • 0

5 growth areas where Medtronic’s CEO wants to invest more

Medtronic CEO and Chair Geoff Martha [Photo courtesy of Medtronic]

With Medtronic selling off and spinning off businesses, CEO and Chair Geoff Martha recently shared his strategy on divestitures and the high-growth areas where he wants to invest more.

Martha was speaking at this month’s Goldman Sachs Annual Global Healthcare Conference, where he also offered his perspective on labor conditions, supply chain issues, international markets, plans to increase R&D spending and the latest on the Hugo surgical robotics system.

How Medtronic — the world’s largest medical device company — and its leader think about which businesses to sell and which to build can help competing device developers, partners and suppliers better understand medtech’s changing landscape.

Medtronic’s divestiture strategy

Medtronic announced plans in May 2022 to spin off its kidney care/dialysis busines…

Read more
  • 0

Sanofi joins Lilly and Novo Nordisk in drastic insulin price reductions

[Image courtesy of ayo888 via iStock Photo]

Paris-based Sanofi (Nasdaq:SNY) is the fastest company to reduce insulin prices. The pharmaceutical behemoth said it would cut  the list price of Lantus (insulin glargine injection) by 78%. Lantus is its most commonly prescribed insulin in the U.S. Moreover, Sanofi will implement a $35 cap on out-of-pocket expenses for users of the insulin.

Sanofi has also pledged to slash the list price of its short-acting Apidra (insulin glulisine injection) 100 units/mL by a 70%.

The company has a 40% share of the U.S. market.

Lilly and Novo Nordisk have similar initiatives

This follows recent announcements from other companies striving to decrease insulin costs. For example, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) committed to capping out-of-pocket expenses for insulin at $35 monthly. Lilly also said it would drop the price of its non-branded insulin to $25 per vial, resulting in cos…

Read more
  • 0

What to expect in diabetes care in 2023

[Image courtesy of Walmart]

After a banner year for diabetes technology in 2022, there’s still plenty to look forward to in 2023.

Throughout 2022, we saw a wide range of advancements in diabetes technology. We saw launches for next-generation technologies, exciting clinical trial results, and rumored spinouts and acquisitions.

You can read all about the biggest diabetes stories of 2022 here.

There’s plenty to look forward to in the diabetes space in the months ahead. Here are a few things worth keeping an eye on.

CMS decision could benefit CGMs

In October, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a new local coverage determination (LCD). That LCD modified coverage criteria for continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). The modification includes people with diabetes who receive insulin treatment or have a history of problematic hypoglycemia.

Analysts suggested at the time …

Read more
  • 0

The year ahead in diabetes care: what to expect in 2023

[Image courtesy of Walmart] After a banner year for diabetes technology in 2022, there’s still plenty to look forward to in 2023.

Throughout 2022, we saw a wide range of advancements in diabetes technology. We saw launches for next-generation technologies, exciting clinical trial results, rumored spinouts and acquisitions and more.

You can read all about the biggest diabetes stories of 2022 here.

As we embark on a new year in 2023, there’s still plenty to look forward to in the diabetes space. Here are a few things worth keeping an eye on.

CMS decision could benefit CGMs

In October, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a new local coverage determination (LCD). That LCD modified coverage criteria for continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). The modification includes people with diabetes who receive insulin treatment or have a history of problematic hypoglycemia.

Analysts suggested at the time that the decision marked a win for …

Read more
  • 0

Here’s what diabetes tech companies are doing for National Diabetes Awareness Month

As we enter November, we enter National Diabetes Awareness Month. A number of diabetes technology developers plan to mark that in a special way.

Dexcom (Nasdaq:DXCM), Insulet (Nasdaq:PODD) and Embecta (Nasdaq:EMBC) all announced their plans to celebrate.

Last year, a handful of companies marked the month — which includes World Diabetes Day (Nov. 14) — in a series of ways. Here’s how they’re doing it this year.

Get the full story at our sister site, Drug Delivery Business News.

Read more
  • 0

7 innovative digital health offerings to treat diabetes

MIT engineers are working on an app that that identifies and quantifies food content, which can aid in carbohydrate counting for people with diabetes. [Image from MIT News] From using your smartphone to track data to reversing your diabetes altogether, these digital health technologies stand out.

Advances in treatments for diabetes never stop coming. Whether that be in the form of insulin pumps or continuous glucose monitors, we’ve seen plenty.

Moving away from the physical device, innovations in the digital diabetes space continue to impress. Digital therapeutics, artificial intelligence- and cloud-based offerings and more comprise an intriguing list of technologies.

Here are seven digital offerings aimed at treating diabetes that you might want to keep an eye on:

1. Digital therapeutics for diabetes

Digital therapeutics is an ever-growing space capable of treating a range of diseases and conditions. That reach extends to diabetes, as shown by companies…

Read more
  • 0