Phenomix Sciences (Phenomix), the first commercial precision obesity medicine biotechnology company, is officially set to present 17 groundbreaking studies at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2025, which will take place between May 4th and 6th in San Diego.
Presented by Mayo Clinic researchers, these studies, eight of which are concerned with use of Phenomix’s predictive machine learning algorithms, will reportedly showcase major advancements in understanding and treating obesity as a complex, biologically driven disease.
More on these findings would reveal how they cover significant progress around prediction of response to GLP-1 therapies, identification of a new obesity sub-phenotype, as well as new data guiding bariatric and endobariatric treatment decisions. From a holistic standpoint, the research in question goes quite some distance to relay the growing role of precision medicine in obesity care. This it will do to guide treatment decisions, drug discovery, and device development.
“We are thrilled to see the depth of obesity research being presented at this year’s conference, reflecting the rapid advancements in obesity precision medicine,” said Mark Bagnall, CEO of Phenomix Sciences. “Collaborating with some of the world’s top researchers is central to our mission. These breakthroughs demonstrate the value of the close relationship with Mayo Clinic, the strength of our underlying technology in developing disease-relevant predictors and the utility of our marketed MyPhenome test. We look forward to leading a new era of obesity treatment that is smarter, more personalized, and more effective.”
Specifically speaking, though, Phenomix’s research will shed greater amount of light upon three key breakthroughs.
Talk about these breakthroughs on a slightly deeper level, we begin from the one focused on predicting side effects related to GLP-1 therapies. The new study, in essence, is set to bring forth new genetic risk scores (GRS) that, on their part, can predict which patients are more likely to experience side effects, such as nausea, when prescribed GLP-1 therapies.
The stated insights, powered by the MyPhenome® test, may eventually enable better medication matching, and at the same time, improve both patient outcomes and trial design for anti-obesity medications (AOMs).
Next up, we have a new sub-phenotype of obesity. This sub-phenotype pairs rapid gastric emptying (Hungry Gut) with reduced GLP-1 synthesis and secretion, two traits typically not seen together. The breakthrough in question effectively disputes current assumptions about hunger signaling, while simultaneously explaining why some patients struggle with persistent hunger and poor treatment response.
In case that wasn’t enough, the study also lays the groundwork for more targeted therapies, from AOMs to surgical options, mirroring the evolution of treatment seen in oncology.
“These new findings further validate that obesity is a biologically complex and highly individual condition. Phenomix’s work—especially in personalizing treatment approaches through physician-informed insights—is exactly the kind of transformative innovation we look to support at Health2047,” said Larry Cohen, CEO of Health2047.
Another breakthrough worth a mention stems is rooted in predicting response, risk to bariatic and endoscopic treatment. You see, going by this new research, MyPhenome can very well identify which patients are most likely to benefit from bariatric and endoscopic procedures, along with who is at greater risk for chronic conditions like metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).
For the first time ever, these findings also provide evidence for integrating the MyPhenome test into bariatric and endobariatric procedure planning.
Founded in 2021, Phenomix’s rise up the ranks stems from enhancing healthcare industry’s knowledge of different ways in which patients respond to specific weight loss interventions. This it does using insights that guide clinical decision-making for patients, help pharmaceutical and medical device partners refine trials, identify high-responder populations, and accelerate the development of more targeted, effective therapies.
The company’s excellence in what it does can also be understood once you consider its proprietary MyPhenome® test has already been named one of TIME’s Best Inventions for the year 2024.
“These findings mark a major step toward truly personalized obesity care, not just in drug response but also in bariatric procedures, device selection, and future drug development,” said Andres Acosta, MD, PhD, alongside his multidisciplinary team at Mayo Clinic. “Our valued partnership with Phenomix Sciences has been instrumental in advancing this work and has paved the way for more effective, patient-specific treatments.”
