Can Response to Semaglutide Be Predicted With a Genetic Test?

ORLANDO, FLORIDA — An analysis of data from 137 patients suggested testing whether people have a trait known as abnormal postprandial satiety (APS), or hungry gut, can predict how well they may respond to the obesity drug semaglutide, although it failed to establish this link for the somewhat similar tirzepatide.

At the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Scientific Sessions, Maria Daniela Hurtado Andrade, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, presented results of a study using the MyPhenome Hungry Gut test, which was developed through machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence. 

The test is part of the MyPhenome obesity phenotyping portfolio from Phenomix Sciences, a company founded by Mayo Clinic physicians, scientists, and researchers Andres Acosta, MD, PhD, and Michael Camilleri, MD, DSc. 

At the ADA meeting, Dr. Hurtado Andrade discussed a test of 137 adults: 91 were considered to have a positive biomarker for abnormal postprandial satiety (APS+), and 46 who did not have it were classified as APS−. These were patients of the Mayo Clinic who were already taking obesity drugs and agreed to phenotyping. Of this group, 113 were on semaglutide and 24 on tirzepatide.

At 12 months, among those taking semaglutide, patients classified as APS+ achieved a mean 18% body weight loss compared with 10% in those classified as APS−. But the test didn’t find these kinds of differences for the tirzepatide group, with a mean 19.4% body weight loss in the APS+ group and a mean loss of 22.1% in the APS− group.

Further studies are warranted to assess the clinical utility of these biomarkers, Dr. Hurtado Andrade said. But these findings do support “the use of precision medicine for obesity based on an individual’s genetic background,” she said.

Dr. Hurtado Andrade’s presentation impressed fellow researchers who noted it as an early step toward the long-sought goal of more personalized medicine.

Daniel S. Hsia, MD, of Emory University, Atlanta, who led the ADA session at which Dr. Hurtado Andrade presented, said it was good to see new information being presented about using genetic risk scoring in obesity.

“The numbers were very small for the tirzepatide group as compared to the semaglutide group, so it’s a little hard to really come to any significant conclusions,” Dr. Hsia said in an interview.

At the ADA meeting, Ajay D. Rao, MD, MMSc, of Temple University, Philadelphia, said clinicians are excited about the idea of having biomarkers to aid in decisions about approaches to obesity.

In a follow-up interview with this news organization, Dr. Rao said he too is looking to see more testing of this approach to care, while describing Hurtado Andrade’s work as a “very well-done study.”

“We still need to see more large-scale studies of responsiveness to certain interventions,” he said. 

Dr. Hurtado Andrade noted that researchers at academic centers such as Mayo can try to hone in the combination of genetic and other factors that led to obesity, such as emotional eating patterns and abnormal postprandial satiety. 

But this approach is not widely scalable, as it demands resources of time and staffing that not all clinicians and patients enjoy.

“To overcome this challenge, our team has been working on developing biomarkers” such as the machine-learning gene risk score used to predict abnormal postprandial satiety, she said.

Findings for a related project were presented in May at Digestive Disease Week, as this news organization reported earlier. In that study, researchers calculated the genetic risk score for 84 adults undergoing weight loss interventions at Mayo Clinic who were prescribed the glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist semaglutide.

This news organization separately asked Phenomix about the sales of MyPhenome Test kits. These cost $499, and about 500 tests have been sold since commercialization started last year, a spokesperson said.

The study was funded by Phenomix Sciences. Separately, Dr. Hurtado Andrade has worked as a consultant for Novo Nordisk and received research support from the National Institutes of Health. 

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

ORLANDO, FLORIDA — An analysis of data from 137 patients suggested testing whether people have a trait known as abnormal postprandial satiety (APS), or hungry gut, can predict how well they may respond to the obesity drug semaglutide, although it failed to establish this link for the somewhat similar tirzepatide.

At the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Scientific Sessions, Maria Daniela Hurtado Andrade, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, presented results of a study using the MyPhenome Hungry Gut test, which was developed through machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence. 

The test is part of the MyPhenome obesity phenotyping portfolio from Phenomix Sciences, a company founded by Mayo Clinic physicians, scientists, and researchers Andres Acosta, MD, PhD, and Michael Camilleri, MD, DSc. 

At the ADA meeting, Dr. Hurtado Andrade discussed a test of 137 adults: 91 were considered to have a positive biomarker for abnormal postprandial satiety (APS+), and 46 who did not have it were classified as APS−. These were patients of the Mayo Clinic who were already taking obesity drugs and agreed to phenotyping. Of this group, 113 were on semaglutide and 24 on tirzepatide.

At 12 months, among those taking semaglutide, patients classified as APS+ achieved a mean 18% body weight loss compared with 10% in those classified as APS−. But the test didn’t find these kinds of differences for the tirzepatide group, with a mean 19.4% body weight loss in the APS+ group and a mean loss of 22.1% in the APS− group.

Further studies are warranted to assess the clinical utility of these biomarkers, Dr. Hurtado Andrade said. But these findings do support “the use of precision medicine for obesity based on an individual’s genetic background,” she said.

Dr. Hurtado Andrade’s presentation impressed fellow researchers who noted it as an early step toward the long-sought goal of more personalized medicine.

Daniel S. Hsia, MD, of Emory University, Atlanta, who led the ADA session at which Dr. Hurtado Andrade presented, said it was good to see new information being presented about using genetic risk scoring in obesity.

“The numbers were very small for the tirzepatide group as compared to the semaglutide group, so it’s a little hard to really come to any significant conclusions,” Dr. Hsia said in an interview.

At the ADA meeting, Ajay D. Rao, MD, MMSc, of Temple University, Philadelphia, said clinicians are excited about the idea of having biomarkers to aid in decisions about approaches to obesity.

In a follow-up interview with this news organization, Dr. Rao said he too is looking to see more testing of this approach to care, while describing Hurtado Andrade’s work as a “very well-done study.”

“We still need to see more large-scale studies of responsiveness to certain interventions,” he said. 

Dr. Hurtado Andrade noted that researchers at academic centers such as Mayo can try to hone in the combination of genetic and other factors that led to obesity, such as emotional eating patterns and abnormal postprandial satiety. 

But this approach is not widely scalable, as it demands resources of time and staffing that not all clinicians and patients enjoy.

“To overcome this challenge, our team has been working on developing biomarkers” such as the machine-learning gene risk score used to predict abnormal postprandial satiety, she said.

Findings for a related project were presented in May at Digestive Disease Week, as this news organization reported earlier. In that study, researchers calculated the genetic risk score for 84 adults undergoing weight loss interventions at Mayo Clinic who were prescribed the glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist semaglutide.

This news organization separately asked Phenomix about the sales of MyPhenome Test kits. These cost $499, and about 500 tests have been sold since commercialization started last year, a spokesperson said.

The study was funded by Phenomix Sciences. Separately, Dr. Hurtado Andrade has worked as a consultant for Novo Nordisk and received research support from the National Institutes of Health. 

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

ORLANDO, FLORIDA — An analysis of data from 137 patients suggested testing whether people have a trait known as abnormal postprandial satiety (APS), or hungry gut, can predict how well they may respond to the obesity drug semaglutide, although it failed to establish this link for the somewhat similar tirzepatide.

At the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Scientific Sessions, Maria Daniela Hurtado Andrade, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, presented results of a study using the MyPhenome Hungry Gut test, which was developed through machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence. 

The test is part of the MyPhenome obesity phenotyping portfolio from Phenomix Sciences, a company founded by Mayo Clinic physicians, scientists, and researchers Andres Acosta, MD, PhD, and Michael Camilleri, MD, DSc. 

At the ADA meeting, Dr. Hurtado Andrade discussed a test of 137 adults: 91 were considered to have a positive biomarker for abnormal postprandial satiety (APS+), and 46 who did not have it were classified as APS−. These were patients of the Mayo Clinic who were already taking obesity drugs and agreed to phenotyping. Of this group, 113 were on semaglutide and 24 on tirzepatide.

At 12 months, among those taking semaglutide, patients classified as APS+ achieved a mean 18% body weight loss compared with 10% in those classified as APS−. But the test didn’t find these kinds of differences for the tirzepatide group, with a mean 19.4% body weight loss in the APS+ group and a mean loss of 22.1% in the APS− group.

Further studies are warranted to assess the clinical utility of these biomarkers, Dr. Hurtado Andrade said. But these findings do support “the use of precision medicine for obesity based on an individual’s genetic background,” she said.

Dr. Hurtado Andrade’s presentation impressed fellow researchers who noted it as an early step toward the long-sought goal of more personalized medicine.

Daniel S. Hsia, MD, of Emory University, Atlanta, who led the ADA session at which Dr. Hurtado Andrade presented, said it was good to see new information being presented about using genetic risk scoring in obesity.

“The numbers were very small for the tirzepatide group as compared to the semaglutide group, so it’s a little hard to really come to any significant conclusions,” Dr. Hsia said in an interview.

At the ADA meeting, Ajay D. Rao, MD, MMSc, of Temple University, Philadelphia, said clinicians are excited about the idea of having biomarkers to aid in decisions about approaches to obesity.

In a follow-up interview with this news organization, Dr. Rao said he too is looking to see more testing of this approach to care, while describing Hurtado Andrade’s work as a “very well-done study.”

“We still need to see more large-scale studies of responsiveness to certain interventions,” he said. 

Dr. Hurtado Andrade noted that researchers at academic centers such as Mayo can try to hone in the combination of genetic and other factors that led to obesity, such as emotional eating patterns and abnormal postprandial satiety. 

But this approach is not widely scalable, as it demands resources of time and staffing that not all clinicians and patients enjoy.

“To overcome this challenge, our team has been working on developing biomarkers” such as the machine-learning gene risk score used to predict abnormal postprandial satiety, she said.

Findings for a related project were presented in May at Digestive Disease Week, as this news organization reported earlier. In that study, researchers calculated the genetic risk score for 84 adults undergoing weight loss interventions at Mayo Clinic who were prescribed the glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist semaglutide.

This news organization separately asked Phenomix about the sales of MyPhenome Test kits. These cost $499, and about 500 tests have been sold since commercialization started last year, a spokesperson said.

The study was funded by Phenomix Sciences. Separately, Dr. Hurtado Andrade has worked as a consultant for Novo Nordisk and received research support from the National Institutes of Health. 

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.