Closed Loop Medicine launches digital GLP-1 dosing platform

UK medtech firm Closed Loop Medicine has launched its first product in the US, a digital tool for personalising the dose of GLP-1 agonist-based weight loss therapies.

The WeDosify software promises to help physicians find the best dose for patients using GLP-1-based therapies like Novo Nordisk's Wegovy (semaglutide) or Eli Lilly's Zepbound (tirzepatide), balancing weight loss efficacy with side effects to try to keep them on treatment for longer.

It has been developed by London-based Closed Loop Medicine in response to data suggesting that nearly two-thirds (60%) of patients taking GLP-1 medicines have discontinued treatment within a year of starting, often because they find it difficult to cope with gastrointestinal side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea, cost concerns, or disappointing results.

Clinical trials of GLP-1 drugs – including this study on Novo Nordisk's experimental oral semaglutide therapy – demonstrate how sticking to treatment regimens carefully can play a major role in patients' achieving their weight-loss objectives.

According to the company, WeDosify reduces dropouts by giving prescribers individualised dosing options based on tolerability, treatment goals, and clinical data, adapting them over time based on patient responses. It also features shareable reports that can "support and motivate" patients, it said.

The platform draws on data from 29 clinical studies and more than 15,000 patient profiles. Physicians enter simple, non-identifiable patient data like weight and treatment status, and are immediately presented with three regimens to compare, along with advice on how to align care with what matters to the patient, who may have become overwhelmed by conflicting information on the treatment.

"We are seeing an increasing number of companies trying to offer more personalised services to support patients on GLP-1 therapies, but the actual level of personalisation is very limited and early results are showing little impact on overall patient discontinuations," said Closed Loop Medicine's chief executive, Kate Woolland.

"WeDosify is the first product that offers genuinely personalised recommendations, which update in real time to reflect how the patient is responding to the drug," she added. "For the first time, patients can see what their weight loss journey might look like and work alongside their clinician to make decisions about their health."

The launch of WeDosify comes as prescribing of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss in the US has risen by more than 700% over the last four years.

Many patients have been receiving the drugs via compounding pharmacies, which can supply the market on the grounds that they provide personalised formulations for patients whose needs are not met by a standard formulation.

Closed Loop Medicine has already lined up one customer for WeDosify, namely Amarillo Premier Research, an ObjectiveHealth network site in Texas, which started using the platform this week.