Zhejiang University Licenses Weight Management Patent for RMB 350,000 Amid Growing Obesity Therapeutics Market

Recently, Zhejiang University issued a public notice proposing to grant a non-exclusive license for an invention patent titled “A Weight Management Method and System,” with a total licensing fee of RMB 350,000.

Professor Yang Yi, the inventor of this patent, focuses on organ injury repair, regeneration, and the pathological mechanisms of aging. He has published more than 40 academic papers, including 31 as the first or corresponding author. In the past two years, Professor Yang and his team have concentrated their research on weight management methods and systems, achieving multiple related patented outcomes.

Precise monitoring of body weight is a key physiological indicator in humans. Body weight is influenced by various factors, including genetics, diet, and exercise, and exhibits significant variability across different populations and at different time points for individuals. For patient groups requiring strict weight management, such as those with chronic kidney disease or diabetes, dynamic weight monitoring is indispensable, as it provides real-time insights into their health status.

However, traditional weight monitoring methods are largely limited to recording single measurements at specific time points, lacking comprehensive analysis and early warning mechanisms for dynamic weight changes, which undoubtedly causes significant inconvenience for both healthcare providers and patients.

To address this challenge, Yang Yi’s team developed an innovative human body weight monitoring system. Reportedly, the system first sets the number of times to acquire body weight values within a unit time period, performs weight measurements according to the preset frequency during that interval, associates each measurement with its acquisition timestamp, and stores the data to establish a historical database of human body weight values.

After acquiring the current body weight measurement, the system compares and analyzes it against the record with the smallest time interval in the historical database (labeled as G). By calculating the absolute difference between the current weight and G (Z1) and the absolute time difference between them (K1), and comparing these values with the preset weight increase threshold (Z2) and time variation threshold (K2), the system intelligently determines the validity of the current weight measurement and updates the historical database accordingly.

It is worth noting that the system also employs advanced technologies, such as air cushions and pneumatic pressure sensors, to precisely measure body weight. By inflating the air cushion with an appropriate amount of gas using an inflation/deflation device and monitoring changes in internal air pressure via the pneumatic pressure sensor, the system can accurately calculate the individual’s current body weight.

Furthermore, the system features an early warning function. Upon acquiring the patient’s current body weight, the system compares and analyzes this value against a predefined warning weight range. If abnormalities such as overweight or underweight are detected, the system immediately generates alert messages and transmits them to the monitoring terminal, enabling healthcare professionals to take timely intervention measures.

According to the latest statistical data from the World Health Organization, the global obesity crisis is becoming increasingly severe, with 1 in every 8 people affected by obesity. Since 1990, the global adult obesity rate has more than doubled, while the adolescent obesity rate has surged threefold. By 2022, 2.5 billion adults worldwide were overweight, including 890 million who were obese.

In China, obesity has become a major public health issue requiring urgent attention, with its risk of causing death and disability ranking sixth. Research predicts that by 2030, medical costs attributable to overweight and obesity in China could reach RMB 418 billion, accounting for 21.5% of the nation’s total healthcare expenditure, and this burden is expected to continue rising.

Driven by market demand, the weight-loss sector has not only seen the emergence of innovative drugs, devices, and therapies, but also attracted major industry players, with Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson successively announcing their entry into the intragastric balloon device market for weight loss.

In 2022, Boston Scientific acquired Apollo Endosurgery, making a strong entry into the weight loss sector. Apollo Endosurgery’s flagship product, the Orbera Intragastric Balloon, is the world’s first intragastric balloon for weight reduction. It is implanted into the stomach via minimally invasive endoscopy and filled with saline; upon inflation, it occupies gastric space to reduce food intake, thereby achieving rapid weight loss.

To date, the FDA has approved three intragastric balloon products for market sale: the Orbera Intragastric Balloon, the ReShape Integrated Dual Balloon System, and the Allurion Balloon. In China, no such products have yet been approved for marketing. However, Zhishan Medical’s intragastric balloon, Spheria®, has completed clinical trial enrollment. This is the first domestically produced non-invasive, swallowable intragastric balloon system. Throughout the treatment period, the inflated balloon enhances patients’ satiety, reduces food intake, helps users establish healthy lifestyles, and achieves weight loss outcomes.

Unlike intragastric balloons, gastric bypass stent systems in China are developing at a faster pace. In 2024, the “Gastric Bypass Stent System” developed by Tangji Medical received approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). This product controls metabolic diseases such as obesity by isolating chyme from contact with the intestinal tract, thereby reducing the absorption and digestion of food by the intestinal wall. Its advantages include minimal invasiveness, ease of operation, preservation of human anatomical structures, easy removal, and the ability to be reimplanted, offering patients a new alternative to pharmacological and surgical weight loss interventions. In summary, while the weight management sector holds broad prospects, competition is becoming increasingly intense. Companies must continuously optimize and innovate their products to meet the diverse needs of patients.