Gelesis believes that it can avoid the FDA skepticism about obesity treatments because its product is not a drug.
Obesity treatment company Gelesis Inc. has increased its second financing round to $6.2 million from $3.6 million. The company raised $16 million in its first financing round in 2008. Investors include PureTech Ventures, Queensland Biocapital, OrbiMed Advisors LLC, and Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK).
Gelesis believes that it can avoid the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) skepticism about obesity treatments, because its product, Attiva, is not a drug, but capsules that release polymer particles made of food materials that expand in liquids, intending to make peoples' stomachs more full. The particles then break down and dissolve. The product operates physically, not through the blood or cells, so the company believes that it can meet the FDA's requirements.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 12, 2011
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011