Treatment with Gelesis hydrogel prevented unwanted substances from entering the circulation in mice with severe gut wall injury
Data suggest Gel-B (GS300) repairs the seal between intestinal epithelial cells
BOSTON, March 25, 2019 — Gelesis, a biotechnology company at the forefront of developing therapies based on mechanobiology to treat chronic diseases related to the gastrointestinal (GI) system, today announced compelling preclinical data suggesting that the Company’s proprietary hydrogel formulation, Gel-B (GS300), restored gut barrier function after damage. The gut barrier plays a key role in blocking intestinal toxins from entering the circulation and triggering disease. Building on previous preclinical work, Gel-B was engineered to elicit the mechanical and physical properties required to optimize intestinal tissue healing. The hydrogel, which represents a pioneering advance in the emerging field of mechanobiology, is being studied in diseases affected by gut barrier dysfunction, such as inflammatory bowel disease.
“These preclinical data support the ability of Gel-B to reverse increased intestinal permeability in a DSS mouse model,” said Elaine Chiquette, Pharm.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Gelesis. “We are continuing to advance our understanding of how our proprietary hydrogel platform technology can mechanically influence intestinal tissue repair.”
Gelesis’ proprietary hydrogels are made from two naturally derived building blocks, modified cellulose cross-linked with citric acid, that create a three-dimensional matrix.
The study presented at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, assessed the effect of Gel-B on gut barrier function in mice following a severe insult to the gut wall by administering 3% dextran sodium sulfate for 5 days. Mice were randomly divided into 4 doses of Gel-B (0.5%- 4.0%), control or an active Anti-p40 mAb group. The mice treated with Gel-B had fewer epithelial barrier breaks in distal colon samples and lower infiltration of an ingested fluorescing agent into their circulation.
Gelesis is developing a novel hydrogel platform technology to treat overweight and obesity and chronic diseases related to the GI pathway. Gelesis’ proprietary approach is designed to act mechanically in the GI pathway to potentially alter the course of chronic diseases. The company’s lead product candidate, Gelesis100, has been submitted to the FDA for review as a weight management aid. Additionally, Gelesis is developing its second candidate, Gelesis200, a hydrogel optimized for weight loss and glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. Novel hydrogel mechanotherapeutics based on the Gelesis platform technology are also being advanced through a pipeline in other GI inflammatory conditions where gut barrier and gut permeability potentially play a role, such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
The Gelesis executive and advisory team includes some of the world’s leading experts in obesity, materials science, chronic disease research and commercialization. Gelesis was co-founded by PureTech Health (LSE: PRTC), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the Brain-Immune-Gut (BIG) axis. For more information, visit gelesis.com or connect with us on Twitter @GelesisInc.
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Kathryn McNeil
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