One time weight-loss therapy? Gene therapy could revolutionize the GLP-1 industry, but challenges remain

A cardiologist by training, [Harith] Rajagopalan believes there’s a better way to harness the benefits of GLP-1 drugs: a gene therapy that, with a single infusion, can program the body to make more of the GLP-1 hormone naturally for years.

Rajagopalan is the co-founder of a small biotech firm making a long-shot bid to disrupt the booming weight-loss industry. His publicly traded company, Fractyl Health, says it is on track to begin a human clinical trial later this year.

… While Fractyl’s approach promises to be longer lasting, it also comes with a potentially significant downside: What happens if the therapy causes patients’ bodies to produce too much GLP-1?

“The drugs, you can stop,” [said] Giles Yeo, a professor at the University of Cambridge who studies the genetics of obesity, said of people who experience nausea and vomiting after taking GLP-1 medications. “If you genetically modify someone and they can’t stand it, they’re screwed,” he said.

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Fractyl said that it is not relying on an “antidote” to develop its therapy, but that drugs that dial down GLP-1, if approved by regulators, “could provide an additional, external safety mechanism.”

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