Imagine there is a water balloon in your stomach that lets you only eat half a slice of pizza instead of four. The idea may seem revolting to some but for the 40 percent of American adults that are obese, it's a godsend.
When Shantanu Gaur saw obesity rates climbing and the measures to combat it as a medical school student in 2009, he realized none of the available therapies in the market were truly scalable or easy on patients. That's when he saw the opportunity to make weight loss measures safe, effective and simple, and that realization led to the birth of Allurion Technologies.
"There was a real revolution happening in health care at that time (2009)," Gaur said. "Patients were becoming consumers and they wanted a great experience."
The Natick-based, nine-year-old company manufactures an intragastric balloon for weight loss. The balloon, made of non-toxic polyurethane, is swallowed as a capsule, which is then filled with water (about 2.5 cups or 550 milliliter) through an oral tube to take up space in the stomach. The procedure can be completed during a swift visit to the physician's office.
Bear in mind that the market for intragastric balloons is expanding and is poised to reach $248 million by 2024. Then what makes Allurion's product different?
"Almost all other intragastric balloons require endoscopy or some type of surgery to insert. We are the first ones to make this procedure-less," Gaur noted.
This is key to making Allurion's product more affordable. Gaur pointed out that a typical intragastric balloon procedure would cost about $8000 in the United States, out of which, $4000 is the cost of endoscopy. And, Allurion's play is that its balloon can be inserted into the stomach orally, eliminating the need for endoscopy.
Allurion also sells a Bluetooth-enabled scale that measures BMI and weight. Looking ahead at product innovation, the company wants to enrich the scale with more data, and has hopes of getting into wearables and tackling other aspects of obesity-related problems, like infertility.
The company, although based in Massachusetts, currently serves international markets in Europe (U.K., France, Spain and Italy) and the Middle East (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE). It has offices in Natick, Mass., France and Dubai. The company began its clinical trial in the U.S. in February this year and hopes to launch its product domestically in 2020. The company employs 60 people across the board and has raised $37 million in venture capital thus far. Its latest round of Series C funding for $27 million came from Romulus Capital, and the company used the funding to support its U.S. clinical trial.
Allurion Technologies is a 50 On Fire finalist in health care.
