‘Gut-led’ supplement innovation brand Elcella has launched a health care provider (HCP) partner network “focused on responsible, research informed appetite care”
District-newcomer, brand Elcella, based at Hale House have put out a call for healthcare provider clinical partners within organisations with obesity, nutrition and dietary services in the Harley Street Health District.
The appetite regulation supplement brand was launched last year as a spin out from Queen Mary University (QMUL) of London by UK gut neuroscientists Dr Madusha Peiris and Dr Ruby Aktar whose decade-long research at QMUL has focused on how the gut senses nutrients and subsequently communicates fullness signals via gut hormones to the brain.
The pair launched the start-up in 2024 after receiving financial backing from investors, including QMUL. The fundamental science, including pre-clinical and clinical work demonstrating appetite suppression via improved gut hormones GLP-1 and Peptide-YY. This work was published in BMJ Journal – Gut in the same year. Further clinical studies are due for publication later this year and new clinical trials are in development, the company said.
The brand and science behind it, exploring L cells and the gut hormones GLP-1 and PYY, has received significant interest in the UK press amid intense interest in new pharmaceutical treatments for obesity focused on reducing food cravings, with the product dubbed by journalists as the ‘natural Ozempic’.
The brand name Ozempic is for a drug that is only currently prescribed on the NHS to treat blood glucose levels in Type 2 Diabetes patients, but is recommended for weight control elsewhere. Other drugs that work to help patients feel full including orlistat, liraglutide, semaglutide and tirzepatide have been approved to treat NHS patients with obesity.
Nearly two thirds of adults in England (64.5%) were estimated to be overweight or obese in 2022-23 – according to the latest government figures available at time of writing - a proportion which has grown every year since 2015-16 when it was under a quarter (22.6%).
The team behind Elcella is now seeking health care provider (HCP) partners in the District whose patients would benefit from support with ‘food noise’ or weight management. This includes patients who are overweight and seeking an alternative to GLP-1 medications due to side effects, treatment discontinuation or concerns about rebound weight gain, explained Elcella Founder and CEO, Dr Madusha Peiris.
“As members of the Harley Street Health District, we are inviting clinicians within the area to join an online session with our founders to explore the science, the patient pathways and the opportunity to collaborate,” Dr Peiris said.
Clinicians and HCPs can register interest to join the session by emailing hello@elcella.com.
