If weight loss with drugs that must be self-injected weekly doesn’t sound appealing — think Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound — there may be an intriguing new option available down the road.
It’s “the world’s first and only swallowable, procedure-less gastric balloon for weight loss” and requires no surgery, endoscopy or anesthesia, according to Allurion Technologies, the Massachusetts company that makes it.
Three other gastric balloons currently have approval from the U.S. Food and Drug administration, but they require sedation and endoscopy for either placement or removal or both, Dr. Shelby Sullivan, an obesity medicine specialist and director of the gastroenterology metabolic and bariatric program at the University of Colorado, tells TODAY.com.
Sullivan is leading a clinical trial, sponsored by Allurion Technologies, designed to support approval for the balloon from the FDA. The company says it expects to have results by the end of 2024 and will begin the process of submitting its application to the FDA.
What is the Allurion ballon?
The Allurion gastric balloon is a balloon you swallow in capsule form, which a health care provider then fills with saline solution to take up space in your stomach and make you feel full. After four months, the balloon deflates and leaves your body in a bowel movement.
It’s not yet approved in the U.S. but already used in more than 70 other countries, including Canada, Mexico and Europe.
Patients lose about 10% to 15% of their total body weight, according to Allurion. In comparison, medications like Wegovy and Zepbound help people lose 15% to 20% of their body weight, according to their respective manufacturers, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
The balloon is an alternative for people with obesity who don’t want bariatric surgery or weight-loss drugs — whether due to cost or fear of permanent body changes, Sullivan says.
“A lot of people don’t like taking medication — they don’t want to take medication. They want to lose…
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