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Respondents ages 18 to 65 highlight urgency for medical recognition, scientifically proven interventions, and genetic testing for personalized obesity treatment.
Menlo Park, Calif., August 1, 2024 – Phenomix Sciences (Phenomix), a precision medicine biotechnology company that brings data intelligence to the treatment of obesity, today announces the results from a new U.S. weight loss survey from 475 patients who have struggled with excess weight or are currently overweight or obese. The survey provides valuable insights into patients’ evolving preferences for obesity treatment, how they receive this information, and what that means for the future of anti-obesity medications, like GLP-1s.
Consumer suvery clearly shows that patients want to get weight loss advice from their physician and not from TikTok.
Read the full survey report here.
As popular as the new group of weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound are, not everyone responds the same way.
Read the full story here.
Menlo Park, Calif., July 9, 2024 – Phenomix Sciences (Phenomix), a precision medicine biotechnology company that brings data intelligence to the treatment of obesity, announced today a partnership with Hello Alpha, a virtual primary care platform built to empower women to take control of their personal healthcare in a convenient, affordable, and discreet online process. This first-of-its-kind collaboration gives Hello Alpha’s expansive network of providers and patients access to the MyPhenomeTM genetic obesity test, a simple saliva test that identifies a patient’s subtype, or phenotype, of the disease. Starting today, Hello Alpha is offering the MyPhenome test alongside weight loss counseling and support to the first 50 eligible patients within its network.
Read the rest of the release here.
By: Emily Mullin | WIRED SCIENCE
July 1, 2024
For many patients, GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy lead to substantial weight loss. But some see much less benefit, and researchers are trying to figure out why.
While many people do remarkably well on them, a subset lose little to no weight on new GLP-1 drugs—so-called because they mimic a naturally occurring hormone in the body called GLP-1 that’s involved in regulating blood sugar, appetite, and digestion. In a trial of semaglutide, about a third of people lost less than 10 percent of their weight; in a study for tirzepatide 16 percent of people on the highest dose lost less than 10 percent of their weight. In the same trials, about 14 percent of participants on semaglutide lost less than 5 percent of body weight; for those on the highest dose of tirzepatide, that figure was 9 percent.
Read the full story here.
New independent study’s findings presented during Presidential Plenary session at Digestive Disease Week 2024.
Menlo Park, Calif., May 20, 2024 - Phenomix Sciences (Phenomix), a precision medicine biotechnology company that brings data intelligence to the treatment of obesity, announces the results of a groundbreaking independent study led by Mayo Clinic and presented at Digestive Disease Week 2024 (DDW). The study demonstrates the clinical utility of the MyPhenomeTM Hungry Gut test to predict response to semaglutide and reduces variability in response to this weight loss medication. Phenomix co-founder and associate professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Andres Acosta, MD, Ph.D. was among a group selected to present these findings at the Presidential Plenary session at DDW, led by Dr. Maria Daniela Hurtado Andrade, M.D., Ph.D. endocrinologist and assistant professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic, and Sima Fansa, MD, Mayo Clinic fellow.
Read the full release here.
Read the interview with Dr. Acosta in TIME by Alice Park.
Read in the interview with Dr. Acosta in CNN.
Precision medicine biotechnology company for obesity secures additional institutional capital from prominent industry leaders to expand the use of its novel phenotyping test and advance clinical research in weight loss treatment.
Menlo Park, Calif., MPhenomix Sciences (Phenomix), a precision medicine biotechnology company that brings data intelligence to the treatment of obesity, has secured $5.5 million in Series A funding from new investors, DexCom, Inc. and Labcorp, and existing investors, including Health2047. The company has also been awarded a $2.3 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant through the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
ay 16, 2024 -Read the full story here.
May 15, 2024 | Mary Stuart | Posted In: MedTech Stratigist Executive Interviews
A new set of objective and simple phenotyping tests that categorize patients by four distinct subtypes of obesity is set to disrupt obesity care, by enabling the tailoring of therapy to a patient's syndrome to create care that is more successful and cost-effective. MedTech Strategist interviews the Mayo Clinic’s Andres Acosta, a co-founder of Phenomix Sciences, which is commercializing the tests.
The clamor around the successful use of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss—Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide (Ozempic, for patients with type 2 diabetes and Wegovy, for adults with obesity)—might obscure the fact that the most impactful innovation in the obesity space right now is a diagnostic, and not a therapeutic.
Read the full article here.
New MyPhenomeTM test delivers patients and providers with most comprehensive and actionable insights yet into their obesity type(s).
Menlo Park, Calif., April 4, 2024 -- Phenomix Sciences (Phenomix), a precision medicine biotechnology company that brings data intelligence to the treatment of obesity, announces today the launch of a new MyPhenomeTM test that now allows patients to test for all three identified phenotypes - Emotional Hunger, Hungry Gut and Hungry Brain - in one simple test. For the first time, the new test gives deeper insights into the presence of one or more phenotypes, how that influences an individual’s obesity, and an in-depth MyPhenome test report personalized to the patient.
Read more here.
Research from Mayo Clinic published in Nature’s International Journal of Obesity introduces new insights into obesity precision medicine for patients with more than one phenotype.
Menlo Park, Calif. -- March 14, 2024 – Phenomix Sciences (Phenomix), a precision medicine biotechnology company that brings data intelligence to the treatment of obesity, today announced the results of a new study titled “Cumulative effect of obesity phenotypes on body weight and body mass index,” published online by Nature’s International Journal of Obesity. The study was conducted at Mayo Clinic and co-authored by Phenomix Sciences co-founder, Andres Acosta, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Precision Medicine Obesity Program and associate professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. The study is the first to demonstrate that patients diagnosed with multiple obesity phenotypes have a higher body mass index (BMI) and body weight.
Read more here.
An independent study presented at ObesityWeek 2023 shows phenotyping and Phenomix’s phenotyping tests are accurate in helping providers determine optimal responders to obesity interventions, such as Hungry Brain patients on Qsymia.
Menlo Park, Calif., October 18, 2023 – Results from a new obesity study conducted at Mayo Clinic to assess the utility of the Phenomix Sciences MyPhenome Hungry Brain test were presented at ObesityWeek 2023 by Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Diego Anazco, M.D., research postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Andres Acosta, M.D., Ph.D. The study demonstrated that Phenomix’s Hungry Brain biomarker test could predict both the Hungry Brain phenotype and identify high responders to phentermine-topiramate (phen-top, e.g., Qsymia), an FDA-approved anti-obesity medication for weight loss.
Read the rest of the story here.
New patent covers methods to treat obesity using phenotyping.
28 September 2023, 09:00 ET
MENLO PARK, Calif., Sept. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Phenomix Sciences (Phenomix), a precision medicine biotechnology company that brings data-driven precision medicine to obesity treatment, announced today the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued the first patent related to its obesity phenotyping technology. The technology underlying the patent was developed by Phenomix's founders at Mayo Clinic, Andres Acosta, M.D., Ph.D., and Michael Camilleri, M.D., D.Sc. The patent is assigned to Mayo Clinic and exclusively licensed to Phenomix to develop, manufacture and market obesity phenotyping tests including the two MyPhenomeTM Tests launched by the company earlier in the year. Read the full press release here. |
September 3, 2023
The pharmaceutical industry has seen a wave of interest in weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. However, obesity is complex, and a personalized approach is key to finding what works best for each individualized patient. In a recent article in PharmaVoice, our CEO shares how phenotyping is bringing precision medicine to the obesity space and how pharmaceutical companies can benefit from and play a dynamic role in this movement. Read more here. |
August 4, 2023
The Wall Street Journal recently profiled Phenomix Sciences, discussing the popularity of weight loss drugs and how phenotyping can arm physicians with the information needed to assess whether patients should be prescribed these drugs. Identifying if a person’s genetic makeup predisposes them to obesity using phenotyping is the secret to finding the treatments that will work for them.
Read more here.
July 19, 2023
Phenomix Sciences recently announced the launch of its second obesity phenotyping test - Hungry Brain. This complements the Hungry Gut test launched earlier this spring addressing the gut-brain axis. Both tests address an individual's perception of hunger and fullness.
Read the TIME article here.
For more information click here.
The latest oral swab is the first to help providers determine the most effective treatment for the Hungry Brain phenotype which, together with Hungry Gut, affects 64% of obesity patients and are the primary phenotypes that cause obesity.
Menlo Park, Calif., June 29, 2023 -- Phenomix Sciences (Phenomix), a precision medicine biotechnology company that brings data intelligence to the treatment of obesity, announces today the launch of a second of its gut-brain axis phenotyping test, MyPhenome Hungry Brain. The new buccal swab test is the first to determine if a patient’s phenotype is Hungry Brain, or if they’re a person who consumes too many calories without feeling full (abnormal satiation). The company released its first phenotype test for Hungry Gut earlier this year, and it’s currently in use by select U.S. providers.
Read the full release here.
6.22.23
Phenomix Sciences's Co-Founder Dr. Andres Acosta's, M.D., Ph.D., findings and unique approach to obesity treatment were recognized in a recent article from Nature Journal. The article, "Game-changing obesity drugs go mainstream: what scientists are learning," outlines the research to tackle who's most likely to lose weight on the new generation of anti-obesity medications.
Read more, here.
To learn more about Phenomix Sciences, click here.
Phenomix Sciences co-founder Dr. Andres Acosta spearheads team of researchers sharing new data and findings surrounding obesity phenotyping at major industry conference
Menlo Park, Calif., April 28, 2023 -- Phenomix Sciences (Phenomix), a precision medicine biotechnology company that brings data intelligence to the treatment of obesity, is attending and presenting research at the DDW 2023 annual meeting taking place in Chicago, Ill. from May 6-8. Andres Acosta, MD, Ph.D, Director of the Nutrition Obesity Research Program at Mayo Clinic, as well as co-founder of Phenomix Sciences, is presenting his findings on phenotype-tailored lifestyle interventions for weight loss and nutrition.
Learn more about the obesity precision medicine sessions here.
Saliva test, Hungry Gut™, will assist in provider recommendations with positive results pointing to diet, GLP-1 medication and/or intragastric balloons.
Menlo Park, Calif., March 30, 2023 -- With forecasts predicting that obesity drug sales will quadruple in the next five years to $11B annually, it is crucial for providers to know which patients will react positively to GLP-1 medications before prescribing them. Phenomix Sciences (Phenomix), a precision medicine biotechnology company that brings data intelligence to the treatment of obesity, announces today the launch of its first therapy selection test, the My Phenome Hungry Gut test. This is a first-of-its-kind obesity test and will determine if a patient’s phenotype is Hungry Gut (Satiety), or feeling hungry shortly after eating a meal. If a patient is Hungry Gut phenotyped, providers are able to more precisely and accurately make a treatment plan which would include a diet intervention specific to Hungry Gut, GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide) medications, and intragastric balloons.
Read the full release here.
Study published in The Lancet found phenotype-tailored lifestyle interventions can produce twice as much weight loss as standard lifestyle interventions.
Menlo Park, Calif. -- March 28, 2023 -- Phenomix Sciences (Phenomix), a precision biotechnology company on the mission to overcome obesity, today announced the results of a new study titled “Phenotype Tailored Lifestyle Intervention on Weight Loss and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Adults with Obesity: Preliminary Proof of Concept Study,” published online by The Lancet. The study was funded by the Mayo Clinic and co-authored by the Phenomix co-founders, Andres Acosta, M.D., Ph.D. and Michael Camilleri, M.D., and is the first to prove that when a diet is based on a patient’s individual physiology the patients lose twice as much weight with a phenotype tailored diet. The study compared the effect of a standard lifestyle intervention to a phenotype-tailored lifestyle intervention on weight loss, cardiometabolic risk factors and physiologic variables contributing to obesity pathophysiology, and the findings are significant. Phenomix has licensed the rights to the data and related technology generated in the study from Mayo Clinic.
Read the full release here.
Obesity is currently classed as one disease but has recently been divided into four subtypes.
By using phenotyping to identify the obesity subtype a patient has, treatments can be personalised for patients, increasing treatment adherence, effectiveness, and outcomes.
Evidence has been published to show that treatments based on a patient’s specific phenotype result in better patient outcomes than treatments solely suggested by physicians.
Read the full article here.
December 28, 2022
By: Anjaili A. Sarkar, PhD.
Obesity was designated a disease by the American Medical Association in 2013. This has begun to dissolve the misconceptions surrounding the chronic, multifactorial disease. In addition to establishing clear phenotypes, phenotype-genotype correlations, and molecular mechanisms, it is also important to recognize the role of genotypic and phenotypic diversity in the various manifestations of obesity.
Phenotype-driven precision medicine holds the potential to change the future of obesity treatment through better-informed clinical decisions, determining coverage, and effectively combining diagnostic testing with drug therapy.
Read the whole article here.
February 14, 2023
Menlo Park, CA and Hunstville, AL --- February 14, 2023 --Phenomix Sciences (Phenomix), a precision obesity biotechnology company, announced today its partnership with Kailos Genetics, a CLIA/CAP accredited clinical laboratory specializing in gene sequencing, to process Phenomix's obeisty patient's phenotyping tests, which will launch later this quarter.
Phenomix is working to conquer obesity through precision medicine and the sicnece of tailoring interventions such as diets, drugs, surgical techniques to each person based on their individual obesity profiles or phenotypes. The company's first therapy selection test, the Hungry GutTM test will predict patient response to GLP-1 treatments, such as WegovyC and OzempicC (semaglutide). The Hungry GutTM test uses a variety of inputs including genetic information obtained from an easily obtained saliva sample.
Read the rest of the press release here.
November 30, 2022
Andres Acosta, MD, PhD.
It has long been said that the best way to treat obesity is to eat a healthy, reduced-calorie diet and exercise regularly.
This method of intervention paints patients with a broad brush and overlooks their unique phenotype for weight loss, contributing to variability in treatment outcomes. Phenotyping classifies a patient’s specific type of obesity based on biological mechanisms. By understanding a phenotype, a physician can identify what is driving a patient’s weight gain and limiting their ability to lose weight.
Read the rest of the story here.
Obesity phenotyping uses a battery of validated tests and procedures to determine the root cause of a patient's disease and then match treatment accordingly.
Obesity phenotyping currently requires about 10 hours and a battery of validated tests to evaluate an individual's energy expenditure, body composition, rate of gastric emptying, satiety/satiation, psychological profile, and values for other biologic and physiologic measures.
Listen to the interview here.
Wide variation in response to current treatments for obesity suggest that the disease is really several diseases, with distinct phenotypes unlikely to respond the same way to the same intervention.
Andres Acosta, MD, PhD, and colleagues at the Mayo Clinic describe 4 biological/behavioral obesity phenotypes based on validated measures of body composition, resting energy expenditure, satiety, satiation, affect, and physical activity:
Listen to the interview here.
"When we have one-third of patients who are not responding to obesity treatments, including bariatric surgery, we have to ask ourselves if the way we are currently managing obesity is appropriate."
In an interview with Patient Care, Andres Acosta, MD, whose widely recognized research focuses on precision medicine in management of obesity, says that given the extensive body of knowledge about the pathophysiology of obesity and wide range of interventions avaialable to address the ubiquitous disease, the era of the trial and error approach to treatment selection should be coming to a close. Listen to the Interview here.
Differences in individual response to the wide range of available obesity interventions can be better understood--and predicted--when the disease of obesity is itself understood as comprised of phenotypes, according to Andres Acosta, MD, PhD, a gastroenterologist and obesity expert at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Listen to the interview here.
| Erin T. Welsh, MA
SAN DIEGO — A multidisciplinary phenotype-tailored lifestyle intervention resulted in greater weight loss among adults with obesity compared with standard weight-loss interventions, according to a study presented at ObesityWeek.
Lizeth Cifuentes, MD, former research fellow in the department of gastroenterology and hepatology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and first-year postgraduate at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and colleagues conducted a 12-week clinical trial of 165 adults with a BMI more than 30 kg/m2. Researchers measured satiation by calories to fullness, postprandial satiety by gastric emptying, emotional eating behavior through questionnaires and resting energy expenditure at both baseline and after the 12-week intervention period. Continue reading...
Kate Young
Phenomix Sciences has launched their Phenomix Sciences Obesity Platform, a set of data and tools that personalize obesity treatments.
“The Platform was developed with a goal to combat obesity with data-driven medicine,” Mark Bagnall, CEO of Phenomix, told Healio. “Obesity isn’t one disease, but many, and at least four can be determined by phenotyping. In fact, the four phenotype categories account for 90% of obese patients. Phenomix is the first to bring a solution to market based on the science of phenotyping.” Continue reading....
Obesity rates in the United States have doubled in the past 20 years and without changes, nearly half of the adult population will be obese by 2030. Though there are many approaches to weight loss—diet and exercise, drugs, surgery—their safety and efficacy varies widely from patient to patient.
Phenomix Sciences is using phenotyping to understand the type of obesity each individual has to tailor treatments that address it specifically. Based on work at the Mayo Clinic, Phenomix breaks obesity into four different subtypes. We spoke to Mark Bagnall, CEO of Phenomix, about the company’s efforts to bring precision medicine to the treatment of obesity, the testing it performs, and the science underlying its approach. Listen to the full podcast here.
Hires industry veterans to build and deploy platform to launch first therapy selection test that predicts treatment response
Menlo Park, CA and St. Paul, MN. -- October 5, 2022 -- Phenomix Sciences (Phenomix), a precision obesity biotechnology company, announced today the Phenomix Sciences Obesity Platform, the first robust set of data and tools aimed at personalizing treatments for obesity patients. Obesity medicine, as it is practiced today, consists of trying various medical interventions for a significant amount of time until one elicits a response in the patient. Phenomix seeks to tackle the well-documented but poorly understood variability in responses to treatments by leveraging clinical data and advanced analytics to unlock precision medicine for this multifaceted disease.
By Kate Burba in Healio Gasterenterology
June 4, 2022
SAN DIEGO — In a Healio video exclusive, Andres Acosta, MD, PhD, outlines research presented at Digestive Disease Week 2022 that focused on the relationship between gastric function and the regulation of food intake.
“Our research mainly focuses on understanding how the gut communicates with the brain to regulate food intake. This is extremely important because we are suffering an obesity epidemic,” Acosta, assistant professor of medicine and consultant in gastroenterology and hepatology at Mayo Clinic, said. “We're super excited to explain how our gut communicates with the brain, regulates food intake and plays a major role in obesity and in the pathophysiology of a disease that is really affecting our epidemic.” Watch here...
by Joy Lin in Gene Online
May 26, 2022
On a mission to conquer obesity, Phenomix Sciences has launched its first obesity biobanking registry and outcomes study. The registry will study variability in obesity by looking at genetic and environmental factors in patients, and analyze interventions that will give maximum benefit to the individual patient.
Mayo Clinic first to enroll in registry with study of 2,000 patients being treated for obesity
ST. PAUL, Minn., May 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Phenomix Sciences (Phenomix), a precision obesity biotechnology company, announces today the launch of its biobanking registry and outcomes study. The registry will evaluate variability in obesity treatment response by collecting patients' DNA, metabolomics, hormones, and behavioral assessments, in relation to treatment outcomes.
May 4, 2021
ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Biomedical startup company Phenomix Sciences (Phenomix) has signed an exclusive technology licensing agreement with Mayo Clinic for a novel blood test that accurately predicts obesity phenotypes. The multi-level “omics” MyPhenome™ test leverages technology developed at Mayo Clinic to analyze genomics, metabolomics and hormone levels. Its AI-driven algorithmic solution identifies four specific obesity phenotypes to give doctors the ability to prescribe more precise anti-obesity treatments. With the finalization of the CLIA lab underway, Phenomix anticipates launching the MyPhenome™ test before the end of 2021. Continue Reading...
July 1, 2021
Using one patient blood sample, the MyPhenome test developed by Mayo Clinic employs an artificial intelligence-based algorithm to analyze a patient’s DNA as well as metabolomic and hormone markers related to obesity. The companies expect it to help clinicians provide earlier diagnosis and better anti-obesity treatment options, including drugs, devices, or surgeries, by analyzing the phenotypes identified from the test. Continue Reading...
May 5, 2021
In a shift from traditional thinking that lumps together all cases of obesity, researchers are increasingly proving that a combination of genetic and environmental factors have resulted in several distinct forms of the condition, each requiring a different treatment. Continue Reading...
May 4, 2021
NEW YORK – Biomedical startup company Phenomix Sciences said on Tuesday that it has signed an exclusive technology licensing agreement with the Mayo Clinic for a blood test to predict obesity phenotypes. Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed. The multiomics MyPhenome test uses technology developed at the Mayo Clinic to analyze a person's genomic, metabolomic, and hormone profile, and uses artificial intelligence-driven algorithms to identify which one of four specific obesity phenotypes the person fits: Hungry Brain, a defect of satiation; Hungry Gut, a defect of satiety; Emotional Hunger, emotional reward from eating; or Slow Burn, a defect in energy expenditure. Continue Reading...
May 3, 2021
Phenomix Sciences was founded by National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded obesity experts and Mayo Clinic physician-scientists Andres Acosta, MD, PhD, and Michael Camilleri, MD, in Rochester, Minnesota, in 2017. Health2047, the wholly-owned innovation subsidiary of the AMA created to overcome systemic dysfunction in the U.S. health care, recently launched the company. Continue Reading...
April 28, 2021
Phenotype-guided obesity interventions, determined by a blood test, can double weight loss for patients compared with standard obesity care, according to a presenter at the Obesity Medicine Association 2021 virtual conference.
March 22, 2021
MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Health2047 Inc., the Silicon Valley-based innovation subsidiary of the American Medical Association (AMA), today announced the spin out of Phenomix Sciences (Phenomix), a phenotype testing company whose AI-derived test analyzes genomics, metabolomics and hormone levels to deliver a new personalized measure for obesity that enhances treatment outcomes. Phenomix provides a solution that identifies four specific obesity phenotypes; the company’s MyPhenomeTM test gives doctors the ability to prescribe individualized anti-obesity therapies that are more effective. Continue Reading...
April 1, 2021
The American Medical Association innovation subsidiary Health2047 has spun off a company that uses personalized medicine to fight obesity. Phenomix Sciences is a phenotype testing company that carries out the AMA’s mission to confront chronic diseases such as obesity. Phenomix uses a blood test called MyPhenome that it has licensed from the Mayo Clinic to allow doctors to prescribe individualized therapies. MyPhenome measures DNA as well as a person’s metabolites and hormones. These biomarkers make up a person’s phenotype, according to Phenomix. Continue Reading...