Gelesis Secures Over $84 Million in New Funding to Advance Commercialization of Oral Weight Management Drug Plenity™

On December 9, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned that biotechnology company Gelesis announced today that it had secured $84.6 million in new funding. Gelesis has raised nearly $100 million this year to support the U.S. launch of Plenity™.

The latest round of equity financing totaled $63.4 million, led by the private equity firm Vitruvian Partners. The company intends to use these funds to strengthen its strategic launch initiatives and leverage its early commercial experience to prepare for the large-scale commercialization of Plenity™ in the United States. Based on the location of Gelesis’s proprietary manufacturing facilities, the company also secured a $12.9 million (€11.7 million) grant from the European Regional Development Fund, administered by the Apulia Region of Italy. This European Regional Development Fund grant, combined with the $10.6 million (€9.4 million) grant announced in April 2019, brings Gelesis’s total non-dilutive funding for the year to $23.5 million. The company further enhanced its financial flexibility by entering into a long-term, low-interest loan agreement worth $8.3 million.

Gelesis is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing best-in-class, safe therapies for patients with obesity, overweight, and diabetes. The company has developed a novel hydrogel platform technology to treat obesity and other gastrointestinal-related chronic diseases. Its lead product, Gelesis100, is an orally administered “smart pill” made from materials generally recognized as safe by the FDA. The pill is designed to exert its therapeutic effect in the stomach and small intestine by increasing satiety and reducing hunger, thereby leading to reduced caloric intake and promoting weight loss.

This pill helps overweight and obese adults with a BMI of 25–40 kg/m² manage their weight. Plenity™ is manufactured by cross-linking two naturally derived structural components—modified cellulose and citric acid—to create a three-dimensional structure. The numerous particles rapidly absorb water in the stomach and mix evenly with ingested food. Rather than forming a single large gel mass, Plenity™ creates thousands of small gel particles that possess the elasticity (firmness) of solid plant-based foods, such as vegetables, while being calorie-free. The Plenity™ hydrogel increases the volume and elasticity of gastric and small intestinal contents, thereby promoting satiety. Once the hydrogel reaches the large intestine, it is partially degraded by enzymes, losing its three-dimensional structure and most of its water-absorbing capacity. The released water is reabsorbed in the large intestine, while the remaining cellulose material is eliminated through the body’s natural digestive processes. Additionally, the company is developing a second candidate, Gelesis200, a hydrogel optimized for weight loss and glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. This new Gelesis hydrogel technology is also being developed for other gastrointestinal conditions, such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and chronic idiopathic constipation.

Yishai Zohar, Founder and CEO of Gelesis, stated, “We are delighted to enter into this partnership with Vitruvian Partners. Their mission to drive rapid growth and transformation across the industry aligns closely with our original vision in launching this first-of-its-kind product. With this new funding, Gelesis will strengthen its strategic launch initiatives and leverage our prior commercial experience to prepare for the large-scale commercialization of Plenity™ in the United States.”

This is an international private equity firm headquartered in London, with offices in London, Stockholm, Munich, Luxembourg, San Francisco, and Shanghai. The company focuses on industry dynamics, emphasizing rapid growth and transformation across sectors including information technology, financial services, life sciences and healthcare, media, and business and consumer services. Vitruvian Partners is currently investing from its third fund, which stands at €2.4 billion and is one of the largest pools of capital in Europe dedicated to supporting innovative and high-growth companies. Vitruvian Funds has backed more than 45 companies and manages approximately $5.5 billion in assets. The firm’s prior investments in life sciences innovators include doctari, CRF Health, ADA Health, and Dental Monitoring.

(Compiled by Wang Jingna)