Gelesis bags $30 million to prepare for regulatory approval of its weight loss capsules

PureTech Health’s affiliate Gelesis has rasied $30 million to back bringing closer to shelves its pipeline of additinoal gastrointestinal disorders product candidates, planning to get the approval in US and Europe this year for Gelesis100.

Dr. Bharatt Chowrira, President and Chief of Business and Strategy at PureTech Health said that this is important financing for a key affiliate, which further strengthens the business and positions them well for their next stage of growth.

This is an exciting time at PureTech Health as two of our affiliates, Gelesis and Akili, plan to file for regulatory approvals and prepare for the potential launches of new medicines designed to address major needs, Chowrira has said.

Gelesis develops mechanotherapeutics to treat chronic diseases related to the gastrointestinal (GI) pathway.

David Pass, PharmD, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Commercial at Gelesis, said: “We look forward to submitting Gelesis100 for regulatory approvals. If approved by US and European regulatory authorities, we believe that Gelesis100 would be the first and only oral prescription of its kind designed to act mechanically in the GI system to help people achieve clinically meaningful weight loss.”

According to Pass, in quantitative research evaluating the pivotal study results with over 600 people struggling to manage their weight, more than 70% found Gelesis100 extremely or very appealing based on its clinically proven efficacy and strong safety profile, and over 90% of these people were likely to ask their doctor for the product.

“Additionally, of over 200 clinicians polled, 79% of obesity specialists and 63% of primary care physicians stated that they were extremely or very likely to prescribe the product if asked,” said Pass.