Obesity

Addressing Significant Unmet Needs in Obesity

Obesity is an unprecedented epidemic that is driving cardiometabolic diseases – the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Obesity leads to metabolic dysfunction and a cascade of cardiometabolic diseases, including liver disease (MASH) and heart failure (HFpEF). 

Obesity – A Chronic Disease 

• Significant Epidemiology: Obesity is estimated to affect 1 billion individuals worldwide.¹ The prevalence of obesity worldwide has more than doubled since 1990 and is a global health crisis.²
• Serious Medical Consequences: Obesity is a chronic disease that if left untreated is a primary driver of a spectrum of chronic diseases, including MASH, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and different types of cancer, significantly reducing both quality of life, and overall life expectancy.
• Limitations with GLP-1s: Currently approved GLP-1 receptor agonists have delivered benefits to individuals living with obesity and associated cardiometabolic diseases, however approximately 75% of patients stop treatment within 2 years.³ Further, around 40% of the total weight loss is lean muscle,⁴ which is critical for long-term function and cardiometabolic health, in particular for older patients at risk of sarcopenia. After stopping treatment, patients regain weight rapidly,⁵ mostly in the form of fat, potentially leaving them worse off metabolically.⁶ 

Obesity Needs New Treatment Options

Obesity is a chronic disease that needs therapies for chronic use. We are advancing RV-8451, a highly-differentiated oral GLP-1, in IND-enabling studies in obesity. 

RV-8451 is the industry’s first oral muscle-preserving GLP-1 non-peptide agonist. RV-8451 decreases energy intake as a GLP-1 and increases energy expenditure by preserving muscle. This differentiated GLP-1 is designed to deliver high-quality, fat-specific, durable weight loss with convenient oral dosing. 

Read more about our pipeline