The Obesity technologies are back in action as AMA declares obesity as a disease.
This is game changing opportunity for many companies.
Young companies like: ONCIOMED, Inc, RESHAPE MEDICAL, BARANOVA, GI DYNAMICS, ALLERGAN, OBALON, VALENTX are at the forefront of all the obesity technologies.
There are in all about 10 promising companies medical device companies in a market estimated to reach $139.5 Billion by 2017.
Company with a novel technology that is currently raising capital is ONCIOMED, Inc based in Irvine, Ca.
info@onciomed.com; CEO is Dr. Raj Nihalani.( raj@onciomed.com )
Other companies have recently raised capital and conducting clinical trials.
Australia and New Zealand are still among the fattest nations in the world. According to a United Nations report, the Australasian countries have once again reached the top five of world's most obese and populous nations, with Mexico and United States leading the fat race.
Just like last year, Australia remains at fifth place with 24.6% of its population considered obese, while New Zealand is still at third with 26.5%. There's no surprise there as the two neighbouring countries have done little movement in the chart in the past years. However, it's worth noting that the United States, which had held the
title of the most obese among populous countries for a long time, has
now passed the torch to Mexico. According to the report, which was conducted by the United Nations,
its southern neighbour is the new country with the most number of
overweight residents. Mexico was previously only second to the U.S.
About 70% of adults in Mexico are considered overweight, while 32.8% are
considered obese.
How did Mexico get so obese?According to the Daily Mail, it managed to nab the unwanted title
with a combination of a few factors, including poverty and expensive
healthy food. With nearly 50% of the country's population are considered poor and the rich have already turned to healthier lifestyles, it is the malnourished that are becoming obese. "The same people who are malnourished are the ones who are becoming
obese," physician Abelardo Avila was quoted by the paper as saying. "In
the poor classes we have obese and malnourished children. The worst
thing is the children are becoming programmed for obesity. It's a very
serious epidemic." A resident, Sally Neiman who has lived in the country for 20 years,
explained further, "Because of a lack of money and food, people go for more energy-intense
foods. These are often high in sugar or fat. People drink Coca-Cola as
if it was water in order to have the energy to carry on - and so many of
the foods are rich in carbs, are full of cheese or are fried. "There is no control in schools to what kids eat these days, it is
normal to see a kid having a soda for breakfast and eating 'comida
chatarra' (junk food), it is allowed to be sold in schools." Healthier food in Mexico tend to be pricier as well for the poor and working class; hence, they choose the heavier yet cheaper food. The U.S. is still at close second with 31.8% of its population considered obese.
The United States no longer holds the title of the world’s most
populous, obese nation; that designation has been passed on to Mexico.
According to a new report from the United Nations, nearly 70 percent
of Mexican adults are overweight, and childhood obesity in the country
has tripled within the past decade, Medical Daily reported. One-third
of Mexican teenagers are also obese, and experts believe that four out
of every five obese children will remain overweight for the rest of
their lives.
Overall, 32.8 percent of Mexican adults are considered obese,
compared to 31.8 percent of adults in the United States. Nearly 70,000
deaths in Mexico each year are caused by weight-related diabetes, and
more than 400,000 new cases of diabetes are diagnosed annually. Experts believe the rise in Mexico’s obesity rates has to do with the
continuously growing gap between the country’s classes, as 50 percent
of the population currently lives below the poverty line. According to
Medical Daily, healthy diets are becoming less affordable, prompting
individuals with low incomes to consume more unhealthy foods, such as
fried foods and soda. One researcher also believes the increase can be attributed to more
Mexicans moving from rural to urban areas, where food prices are much
higher and sedentary lifestyles are easier. “The result is that for many Mexicans, particularly in urban areas or
in northern states, switching to healthier diets is becoming
increasingly difficult," UN expert Olivier de Shutter wrote in a report
on Mexican agriculture and nutrition.
This is an important time in the fight against
obesity and diabetes
For
the first time there is going to be a Obesity & Diabetes Innovation
Summit in Orange County, California in Oct 3-4, 2013.
10
Medical device and 10 pharma companies will be talking about their
innovations in obesity and diabetes. Sponsor companies will get an
opportunity to voice their support for obesity.
Who should attend: Expected guest 250-300
Medical
device and pharmaceutical executives, business development executives
(tremendous opportunity to partner with young start ups early).
Sponsor companies who are joining the fight against obesity.
Start up companies who can get tremendous visibility to investor and strategic partners
VCs,
private investors, PE executives and boutique investment bankers as
this new disease classification brings more opportunity in this space.
Doctors, Nutritional experts, medical device, pharma and hospital/healthcare executives, allied health care professionals.
To sponsor, showcase or qualify to present please email a non-confidential company profile to info.odis1@gmail.com
Top 20 in the obesity and diabetes space will be presenting at the innovation summit.
North American Obesity Market to Swell to $139.5B by 2017, Spells Opportunity for Device Makers
A new research report
forecasts that the weight loss and obesity management market in North
America will increase to $139.5 billion in 2017, up from $102 billion in
2012.
The market includes medical device products used in weight loss
surgery, and the report from MarketsandMarkets underscores the
opportunity for medical device manufacturers. In the medical device
arena, the opportunity seems to be primarily in areas that provide
patients an alternative to invasive surgery. The report said:
Minimally-invasive and non-invasive surgical procedures
that use highly sophisticated equipment like endoscopes and laparoscopes
have been developed. In addition, non-invasive weight loss techniques
like cryolipolysis, transoral obesity revision surgery, cold laser
shaping, and Stomaphyx are also gaining popularity.
It remains to be seen whether American Medical Association's decision
to consider obesity a disease will have an effect on the overall size
in the market. When the June decision from the AMA came down, it marked a
real uproar because some believed that considering obesity a disease
basically means that individual responsibility can be denied. People who
lead unhealthy lifestyles can simply believe that clinical intervention
is automatically required instead of a change in behavior.
The same debate has spilled over to a discussion on the LinkedIn Medical Devices Group.
Politics aside, what is salient about the discussion is that some users
of the group believe the growing market holds great promise for medical
device inventors.
Take user Paul Stein
for instance. A medical device professional, formerly with St. Jude
Medical, Stein believes that medical devices will succeed in tackling
the epidemic that is obesity where pharmaceutical companies have failed.
Here is an edited version of his comments:
For us in the medical devices industry, we need to look
at this as a tremendous opportunity to create the next generation of
medical devices.
The current set of drugs, along with their toxicities, do very
little. And, the one marketed medical device, the Lap Band, has proven
its worth in treating obesity. But, the most important fact that needs
to be soberly understood is that the little medical device company that
invented that device was paid $1.2B by Allergan for it. Yes, that's a B.
One of the other very popular treatments for obesity, the vertical
sleeve gastrectomy, uses several thousands of dollars of linear staples
(Covidien, J&J) per procedure. Performed over a million times per
year, you do the math.
Stein points to one startup that he is working with -Onciomed-
that he believes has the potential to address the global obesity
challenge. The Irvine, California firm has devised a minimally-invasive
procedure called the GVS System that restricts food intake while
providing a feeling of fullness and satiety.
Fred Voss, another LinkedIn user who commented on the discussion, is
also working on an innovative device to treat obesity while achieving
the positive effects of bariatric surgery. San Clemente, California-firm
PlenSat, where Voss is CEO, has developed what it calls digestible balloons.
The capsules containing the balloons can be ingested over several days,
thereby slowly changing stomach volume. They result in the patient
feeling a sense of fullness.
The opportunity in treating obesity is not simply limited to startups though. Another LinkedIn user, Patrick Pickerell commented on how insurance reimbursement for devices used in obesity procedures as a result of AMA's decision is proving to be a boon to his company - Peridot. Pickerell is president of that firm based in Pleasanton, California.
My company (Peridot) is a
supplier of precision metal and plastic components to the minimally
invasive device companies. As such we have at least half a dozen clients
in the stomach reduction space that have placed their bets on just such
a ruling. Insurance reimbursement codes mean the difference between a
viable exit/sale of these startups so from a business standpoint
(somewhat selfishly I admit) I am glad for the ruling.
From an economic point of view it seems better to treat obesity now
than pay for the long term effects of diabetes and heart disease.
