- MetaCure
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MetaCure Ltd. 
Type Private Industry Medical Devices and Medical Technology Headquarters Israel Key people Dr. Irit Yaniv (CEO) Products Tantalus System Website Metacure Ltd. Website Metacure Ltd.. based in Kfar Saba , Israel, is a medical technology company which develops treatments for Diabetes Type 2.
Contents
Metacure develops Medical Technology for the treatment of Diabetes. The company was founded by Dr. Shlomo Ben-Haim, founder of Impulse Dynamics, a company that develops implantable devices for treating congestive heart failure. Dr. Ben Haim has developed a platform technology of implantable devices for the modulation of non-excitatory cells—CCM (Cardiac Contractility Modulation) and GCM (Gastric Contractility Modulation).
Metacure’s current GCM product, Tantalus System, is an implanted electro-stimulator system for accelerating the natural metabolic process.[1] Gastric electrical stimulation can potentially improve glucose metabolism and induce weight loss in obese diabetic patients, who are not well controlled on oral antidiabetic therapy. It is implanted in patients to improve blood glucose levels as well as to contribute to weight loss and improvement in metabolic parameters such as blood pressure and lipid profile.[2] It is the first medical device approved for treatment of Type 2 Diabetes accompanied by Obesity.
MetaCure’s technology is patent protected. It is based on a novel algorithm for automatic food intake detection, and consequent electrical stimulation of the stomach muscles. Based on a proprietary technology developed for treating Chronic Heart Failure, the stimulation is non-excitatory and timed to coincide with refractory periods, enhancing gastric muscle contractility, and activating neurons that stimulate hormone secretion, which improves glucose metabolism.[3] Simultaneously, the stimulation also enhances satiety and lowers food consumption. Both effects can improve the balance of the post-Prandial metabolic process, resulting in improving blood glucose levels as well as possible weight loss, and reduction of blood pressure and waist circumference. The core technology of applying non-excitatory stimulation along the GI tract has been patented by MetaCure.[4]
Type 2 Diabetes is an epidemic affecting more than 250 million people worldwide. Type 2 Diabetes is expected to affect 370 million people worldwide by 2030. The CDC predicts 1 in 3 Americans will have diabetes by 2050. Obesity is a major risk factor for Type 2 Diabetes. The combination of obesity and diabetes has been coined Diabesity. Many of the currently used oral drugs and injected therapeutics for diabetes, (e.g. insulin), cause weight gain and other undesired side effects. Treating obesity by bariatric surgery is a radical alternative, often irreversible and forcing a change in life style. There is a clear need for novel treatment options for Type 2 Diabetes.
The company was founded by Dr. Shlomo Ben-Haim, a professor of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics, with appointments both at Harvard and the Technion Institute of Technology. He was previously Chief Scientist for Johnson & Johnson’s Biosense-Webster and holds over 200 patents and patent applications.
- ^ Obese Diabetics Who Fail Oral Therapy Can Benefit from Gastric Electrical Stimulation
- ^ Clinical Policy Bulletin:Gastric Pacing and Gastric Electrical Stimulation
- ^ Electrical Stimulation of the Gut for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes: The Role of Automatic Eating Detection
- ^ Acute and chronic electrical signal therapy for obesity
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