A Minnesota, US-based surgical and medical instrument manufacturing company has invented a device that mimics the effects of surgery that cause diabetes remission, but can be placed via a 20-30 minute outpatient endoscopic procedure. Dr. Kedar R. Belhe, president, Metamodix Inc., met with medical practitioners in Saudi Arabia last week during a seven-day visit to the Kingdom of the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota delegation. Belhe told the Saudi Gazette that the Saudi market opportunity for type 2 diabetes (T2D) is promising, considering that the Kingdom has the highest incidence rate of type 2 diabetes at over 4 million, representing 18 percent of the world record, according to the International Diabetes Association. There are currently 366 million people in the world with type 2 diabetes. By 2030, the number of people with diabetes is projected to grow to 600 million, the federation noted. The thin 60-cm long fluoro-polymer sleeve Metamodix device is placed at the junction of the stomach and the small intestine duplicating the bypass of the small intestine. The proprietary shape-memory anchoring technology safely anchors the sleeve in the stomach without the need for sutures, staples or penetrating hooks. The device also modulates gastric emptying to activate incretin hormones in the lower gut. Patients who have availed of the procedure are expected to lose up to 15 percent of their weight, hence also reducing obesity, he added. Unlike the other similar device made in Europe which has to be replaced yearly, the Metamodix product can remain in the patient for more than five years before removal endoscopically, Belhe further said. The entire procedure is economical, Belhe further said, adding that the device as well as the procedure itself would cost only $3,000. He further said the technology has shown better results in the control of diabetes that drugs therapy. Moreover, he said Metamodix anticipates collaboration with hospital, heathcare organizations and clinicians in Saudi Arabia to refine its technology and conduct clinical trials. The product will be commercially available in 2013, Belhe said. He believes that in the long term, the Metamodix device would directly reduce the cost of treating diabetes in the Kingdom and also minimize cardiovascular, neurological, renal and other complications associated with diabetes. __
