ValenTx has developed a proprietary technology portfolio that focuses on endoluminal approaches to treat obesity and obesity-related metabolic disorders. The ValenTx endoluminal bypass therapy represents a breakthrough in how these disorders can be treated. Our goal is to offer the efficacy of a surgical intervention through an endoscopic, non-surgical approach.
In the United States, the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is the gold standard treatment for obesity and has shown to have dramatic effects on other metabolic disorders. According to "Bariatric Surgery, A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis" published in JAMA, 2008, patients who had gastric bypass had an average excess weight loss of 68%. In addition, those patients receiving the procedure, who also had type-2 diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia had resolution of these diseases in 84%, 75%, and 94% of cases respectively.
The gastric bypass procedure has historically been performed with open surgery, but in recent years, the development of a laparoscopic approach has fueled a dramatic rise in the number of cases done annually. Other bariatric surgeries such as gastric banding and sleeve gastrectomy have taken prominent roles in the obesity surgery landscape, due to superior safety profiles, but neither has equaled the impact of the gastric bypass on weight loss and the resolution of associated metabolic disorders.
The mechanisms at work in the gastric bypass procedure are profound and still a subject of scientific investigation. Fundamentally, the means by which food is received and processed by the digestive system is altered in three ways: 1) food intake is restricted due to the creation of a small gastric pouch, 2) food is excluded from the stomach and proximal bowel, and 3) undigested food is exposed to the jejunum. These changes result in a high level of satiety and weight loss for patients, and perhaps more importantly, these changes trigger metabolic effects that decrease co-morbid conditions, particularly type-2 diabetes.
The ValenTx endoluminal bypass therapy accomplishes the same 3 changes as the gastric bypass procedure, but obtains these with an implantable device, that does not require surgery, gastric stapling or a permanent changes to the patient's anatomy.
The ValenTx endoluminal bypass therapy mimics the permanent anatomical changes made by the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure, but does this with an adjustable, removable, and replaceable device.
The advantages of this approach are clear:
With this approach, a highly effective and less invasive treatment may be possible for the millions of people suffering from obesity and debilitating metabolic disorders such as type-2 diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia.
The ValenTx endoluminal bypass is not FDA approved, not commercially available, and subject to ongoing clinical investigation.