Injectable GLP-1 drugs may be the hottest weight loss trend: They help patients drop pounds without having to go under the knife for bariatric surgery, but they’re not the only new noninvasive innovation to treat obesity.
Medical devices, like Allurion’s gastric balloon, offer certain patients a long-term weight loss alternative without as many risks or costs associated with surgery or GLP-1 prescriptions. The balloon, which is paired with remote monitoring and a behavior change program—like improved exercise and sleep or therapy—has helped 95% of patients not only lose weight (about 10%–15% of their total body weight, on average) but also keep it off after a year—including several months after the device exits their system, according to Allurion co-founder and CEO Shantanu Gaur. The company went public in early August.
That sustainability, he told Healthcare Brew, is what’s “been missing from this entire narrative” surrounding weight loss solutions.
“The drugs are great weight loss tools. So is bariatric surgery for that matter—and so is our balloon,” Gaur said. “In terms of weight maintenance and sustaining those results, that’s where I think everyone has missed the boat.”
How it works
Patients with a body mass index over 27 (or above the optimum range) who take part in Allurion’s weight loss program swallow a gastric balloon during a regular office visit with their provider. The balloon fills with about a half liter of water once it reaches the stomach—decreasing appetite by making the patient feel full. The balloon remains in the stomach for about four months before disintegrating and passing out of the body.
In addition to the balloon, patients get access to Allurion’s AI platform and mobile app, a Bluetooth-enabled scale, and a smartwatch—all of which allow the company to fully monitor a patient’s progress remotely.
Patients are also connected with a dietician and nutritionist who can text message or video with the patient via Allurion’s platform. The company additionally offers a text-based program that combines behavioral science and machine learning to help patients maintain their weight loss. The program includes 150 content modules ranging from sleep to fitness that aim to help a person adopt some new lifestyle habits following balloon therapy.
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“If you’re going through our program, and our app is collecting data on your scale use and our fitness tracker, and we sense that you’re not sleeping well […] you’ll start getting sleep content from our behavior change programs,” Gaur said. “We can tailor the content according to what you need.”
Allurion further leverages artificial intelligence—known as its Success Predictor algorithm—to predict a patient’s success in the program, and notifies providers if someone is on track to have a successful outcome or if they require intervention after about 20 days.
The balloon and weight loss program is a one-time cost of about $3,000–$4,000, Gaur said. By comparison, bariatric surgery can cost upwards of $15,000, while a GLP-1 prescription costs around $14,000 annually before rebates or discounts.
GLP-1 tailwinds
As GLP-1 drugs have risen in popularity as weight loss solutions, more patients are asking their doctors about weight loss options—including Allurion’s gastric balloon, Gaur said.
He argued that GLP-1s are not a sustainable long-term weight loss solution due to the high costs and side effects, and due to the fact that many people don’t like getting injections. (The gastric balloon can also cause side effects, like nausea, though Gaur said they’re “a night and day difference” compared to side effects from surgery or GLP-1 drugs.)
Allurion, therefore, could be an attractive alternative for patients who decide to stop using GLP-1s for weight loss, as well as for those who are new to weight loss, he argued.
“We find that many of our patients don’t want the side effects of the drug. They don’t want to inject themselves once a week. And frankly, they can’t afford the drugs either—we hear that again and again from our patients,” Gaur said, noting that the company’s revenue has grown substantially since Allurion went commercial six years ago. “What these GLP-1 drugs have done for our business is create brand-new market opportunities for us.”