Obesity Treatment Devices Have Big Potential in Medical MarketplaceObesity Treatment Devices Have Big Potential in Medical Marketplace
January 4, 2012
Approximately one-third of U.S. adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And while this weighty statistic does not bode well for the health of Americans, it does represent a wealth of opportunity for medical device manufacturers.
Among the few weight-loss devices that can boast brand recognition, thanks to a ubiquitous advertising campaign, is the Lap-Band adjustable gastric banding system. However, this pervasive marketing campaign was the subject of a stern warning from FDA last month that accused several surgical centers and a marketing firm of downplaying the device's dangers, contraindications, and side effects.
Although the laparoscopically placed Lap-Band has proven successful in the market--despite the recent marketing brouhaha--various medical device manufacturers are forging a different product design path for next-generation devices by offering a nonsurgical, nondrug obesity treatment. ReShape Medical (San Clemente, CA), for example, has developed what it claims on its Web site is the "first and only nonsurgical, dual-balloon treatment for the millions who want a fast track to weight loss, without the risks of surgery or side effects of drugs." Designed to take place in a 30-minute outpatient procedure, placement of the ReShape Duo entails the insertion of an endoscope through the mouth and into the stomach. Then, the uninflated balloons are positioned in the stomach via a guidewire, after which the balloons are inflated with saline.
"The device is released and remains in the stomach for six months, serving as built in portion control," according to the company's Web site. "The balloons do not change the stomach's anatomy; they simply occupy space to reduce the capacity for food." The device is removed through the mouth with an endoscope at the end of six months. It has been used for two years in Europe and is currently undergoing an FDA clinical study in the United States.
In the same vein as the ReShape Duo, a Massachusetts-based startup company Allurion Technologies (Wellesley) has developed a nondrug, nonsurgical weight-loss device that provides users with a sense of satiety. Recently highlighted by the Boston Herald, the company's medical device consists of a hydrogel-based material delivered to the stomach in a pill form. "We take the endoscopic procedure out of the equation," Allurion CEO Jonathan Wecker told the Herald. "We have a medical device that fits in a pill and expands in the stomach over several months."
Less expensive and less invasive than the Lap-Band and various other weight-loss devices, Allurion's medical device expands in the stomach and presses against its walls, making the patient feel full. Once the treatment is complete, the patient takes an oral solution that dissolves the device. The company is currently seeking funding for the device.
Allurion, ReShape Medical, and other such innovative companies are poised to tackle an area with a great deal of market potential upon which only a limited number of medical device manufacturers appear to be capitalizing. In particular, these devices that offer a nonsurgical, nondrug approach to weight loss could revolutionize the field of obesity devices if they make it to market. Gaining profits while helping patients shed pounds sounds like a potentially lucrative concept. --Shana Leonard
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