New study in mice published in Nanomedicine shows Sigrid’s medical device SiPore15 prevents weight gain
Opens the way to new treatments for obesity and diabetes
Stockholm, January 14, 2020: Sigrid Therapeutics today announced the publication of a major study in mice in the peer-reviewed journal Nanomedicine demonstrating the enzyme-blocking effects of mesoporous silica particles (MSPs) introduced to the gut and the resulting effect on food efficiency and metabolic risk factors. Sigrid has previously performed clinical studies demonstrating that SiPore15 lowers blood sugar levels, measured as HbA1c.
So far there are no effective treatments for obesity that hinder weight gain or promote weight loss without problematic side effects. Many of the current medications use small pharmacological agents that can affect the body negatively in multiple ways.
“We designed an innovative approach. Mesoporous silica particles (MSP) are a type of ingestible synthetic silica particles that can be produced with a large surface area and a range of pore sizes”, says professor Tore Bengtsson at the Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University and the one heading the research team behind the study.
The team hypothesised that the particles could be used as “molecular traps” in the intestine to trap and block digestive enzymes that break down food and thus reduce the energy uptake into the body (measured as food efficiency).
In the study reported in Nanomedicine, mice were fed high fat, high calorific diets, to induce weight gain, mixed with specially engineered MSPs. The results showed that MSPs reduced food efficiency by 33 per cent leading to a lower weight gain, and a positive effect on the metabolic profile, as well as significant lower levels of adipose tissue formation and leptin, together with lower levels of circulating insulin.
“The data presented in this study suggest that tailored MSPs could be used to treat obesity and diabetes in humans, especially when taking into account their excellent safety profiles”, comments Professor Bengtsson.
“These results are very exciting and open up for new possibilities of SiPore15 to be used for weight control and weight loss besides blood sugar control, rending us a powerful new tool in the fight against diabetes and obesity,” added Sana Alajmovic, CEO, Sigrid Therapeutics.
The publication in Nanomedicine: “Mesoporous Silica with Precisely Controlled Pores Reduces Food Efficiency and Suppresses Weight Gain in Mice”, can be found here: https://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/10.2217/nnm-2019-0262
Details of the 24-week STAR (Sigrid Therapeutics HbA1c Reduction), which involved 43 patients at two sites, one in Sweden, the other in Finland, can be found here: www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03823027 and https://www.sigridthx.com.
For further information, please contact:
Sana Alajmovic – CEO, Sigrid Therapeutics AB
Telephone: +46 72 389 3396
Email: sana@sigridthx.com
About Sigrid Therapeutics
Sigrid Therapeutics (Sigrid) is a clinical-stage biotech company pioneering a new class of engineered materials to prevent and treat metabolic disease and disorders, including type 2 diabetes. The Company’s lead product candidate, SiPore15, is an orally-administered medical device based on the Company’s proprietary platform technology, SiPore. Designed to act locally in the gut, SiPore15, consists of precisely engineered micron-sized silica particles with tailored porosity. A First in Man clinical trial of SiPore15 showed promising clinically significant results and an excellent safety profile. During 2019 results from the STAR study showed that SiPore15 significantly lowers blood sugar reduction. Upon its approval, SiPore15 will be the first medical device available for reduction of blood sugar levels in people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
