73.6% (250m people) of the American Population is overweight or obese. Weight disorders place a significant burden on the healthcare system due to increased risk of deleterious disorders such as diabetes, kidney failure, liver failure, cardiovascular disease, and COVID-19. A key issue in reducing weight gain in the population is that weight loss therapies are not covered by insurance, unless patients are severely obese or possess multiple co-morbidities, requiring patients to pay nearly $1,500/month. Considering that persons in lower socio-economic standing are more likely to be overweight or obese, it is unsurprising that the prevalence of obesity continues to rise. These expensive weight loss therapies aim to alter an individual’s metabolism, which is very difficult to accomplish and often yields significant side effects with long-term use. Drawing inspiration from reports highlighting the flexible metabolism of bacteria, we endeavored to train bacteria to consume dietary fats resulting in a first-of-its-kind weight loss probiotic called “YouBiotics”. YouBiotics are well tolerated, inexpensive, and highly efficacious rendering ~20% body weight change in comparison to untreated groups.
Description
YouBiotics are created from an individual’s own bacteria which facilitates engraftment in the small intestine and improves tolerance. Conventional probiotics can produce gastrointestinal discomfort and do not colonize the intestines. We have tested YouBiotics in a set of rigorous metabolic cage experiments in mice. Our data indicates that YouBiotics do not alter the animal’s metabolism, and that the weight changes are not a result of water loss, increased activity, or loss of lean mass. Taken together, YouBiotics act to scavenge dietary fats from the intestines before they can enter the blood stream. In this way, dietary calories from fat can be significantly reduced, facilitating reductions in fat mass and blood triglycerides with long-term use. Because YouBiotics is a probiotic, we intend to market it as a food supplement reducing carry-over costs and development time associated with FDA approval. Our current manufacturing cost estimates indicate that YouBiotics can be a low-cost weight management therapy with a price point of ~$99 - $199 for a one-month supply, which represents as much as 93% cost reduction in comparison to FDA regulated weight loss therapeutics.
Applications
· Prevention of weight gain
· Enhancement of weight loss
· Reduction in blood triglycerides
Advantages
· Significant cost reduction in comparison to existing weight loss therapeutics
· Reduced side effects
· Improved sampling method in comparison to other personalized probiotics
Invention Readiness
Completed: in vivo experimentation in small animals In progress: preclinical study in large animal model
IP Status
https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2019168990A1
