Syntis Bio, Inc. (Syntis) today announced its launch as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a mission to develop oral therapies that provide more accessible, effective and sustainable solutions across the healthcare spectrum, from rare genetic disorders to the world’s most prevalent conditions. By harnessing the small intestine’s unique biology as the nexus for metabolic control, digestion and drug absorption, the company is rapidly advancing a portfolio of programs addressing metabolic diseases ranging from obesity to rare pediatric indications homocystinuria (HCU) and maple syrup urine disease (MSUD).
Co-founded by industry veteran Rahul Dhanda and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) visionaries Robert Langer, Sc.D., and Giovanni Traverso, M.B., B.Chir., Ph.D., Syntis is advancing its lead obesity program, SYNT-101, through human trials, as well as advancing a pipeline of rare disease assets into Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling studies. In 2023, the company raised a seed round of $15.5 million from leading life sciences and strategic investors, including Safar Partners, BOLD Capital Partners, Touchdown Ventures, Colorcon Ventures and Portal Innovations.
“Obesity is a global epidemic projected to affect 1.5 billion people by 2030. While GLP-1 drugs have delivered new hope and unprecedented efficacy, there is significant demand for additional treatment options given ongoing issues with accessibility, cost, side effects and long-term maintenance,” said Mr. Dhanda, who serves as Chief Executive Officer of Syntis. “We are excited by the encouraging results seen so far in human trials for our SYNT-101 program, which may offer an alternative or complementary obesity therapy in a convenient, accessible once-daily pill. By unlocking the small intestine’s therapeutic value, we are pioneering more effective treatments across a vast spectrum of conditions—from widespread issues affecting millions, like obesity and diabetes, to rare conditions such as HCU and MSUD, where thousands suffer and options are scarce.”
The company’s lead program, SYNT-101, is a once-daily pill that mimics the effects of gastric bypass surgery by transiently blocking nutrient absorption in the duodenum, the upper part of the small intestine. This mechanism, known as duodenal nutrient exclusion, diverts nutrients to the lower small intestine, where absorption is more controlled, and stimulates a full cascade of satiety hormones such as GLP-1 and PYY. A formulation of SYNT-101 is currently undergoing human trials to establish preliminary safety, tolerability and blocking efficacy, with a full data readout anticipated by the end of 2024. Syntis plans to leverage data from this initial study to support its IND application with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 2025.
