A Maryland based operation with certain personnel currently resident in the JLab Lowell MA undertaking materials science R&D, Glyscend is structured around development of therapies for metabolic diseases, These diseases include Type 2 diabetes and obesity with the effort being anchored in ingestion of a pill versus bariatric (gastric bypass) surgery. Traditionally, Type 2 diabetes has been treated with oral and injectable drugs. However, compounded over the lifetime of a patient, this approach causes weight gain and - potentially - to greater insulin resistance. For many patients, bariatric surgery has been proven to have important beneficial effects, not only on obesity but also on type 2 diabetes independent of weight loss. The effort of Glyscend has been to tackle development of a non-invasive approach that act on the same mechanism as would surgery but fit within the current care pathway. The company's technology is an orally ingestible intestinal coating designed to prevent stimulation of duodenal mucosa and inhibit key neurohormonal pathways in the proximal gut: creating an orally administered intestinal barrier which mimics the intestinal bypass portion of bariatric surgery. Effectively,the firm's approach is to provide the therapeutic benefits of this surgery in a pill form.
