A different approach to obesity treatment, with Steffen-Sebastian Bolz

Obesity is big business in pharma right now, but while the likes of Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly race to offer the best GLP-1 drugs, smaller biotechs are exploring other avenues for weight loss drugs that build on the lessons from the GLP-1 revolution.

At LSX in Boston last month, pharmaphorum editor-in-chief Jonah Comstock connected with Dr Steffen Sebastian-Bolz, chief science officer at Aphaia Pharma.

Sebastian-Bolz explains how Aphaia’s mission has evolved from “treating diabetes with sugar” to looking for a new approach to obesity treatment that leverages the body’s own hormone production.

He describes Aphaia’s approach and some of the early promising results the company has seen, then discusses some of the insights he heard during the obesity science track at LSX. This includes ongoing challenges around GLP-1s like low long-term adherence rates and side effects, and why it’s important to capitalise on the hot moment obesity science is having.

Watch the full interview to learn about a biotech with a fresh approach to a highly active research area.