Personalized treatment to improve weight loss with prescription medications
Official title: A NOVEL PRECISION MEDICINE APPROACH FOR OBESITY: A RANDOMIZED, MULTI-CENTER TRIAL
Funded at Phenomix Sciences, LLC · NIH-11293461 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project sees if using people’s medical and biological profiles to pick the right prescription weight-loss medicine helps adults with obesity lose more weight.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Phenomix Sciences, LLC NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Menlo Park, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | March 15, 2024 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $348,022 |
| NIH project number | 5R44DK138619-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11293461 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults aged 21 and over with obesity who are considering or eligible for prescription anti-obesity medications are the most likely candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People under 21, those not planning to use prescription weight-loss drugs, or individuals for whom these medications are unsafe (for example due to pregnancy or certain medical conditions) are unlikely to benefit directly from participating.
What this research studies
You would join a multi-center trial comparing a personalized approach—using clinical and biological traits—to usual care when choosing anti-obesity medications. Participants will be carefully measured and phenotyped, then randomized to receive either precision-guided medication selection or standard treatment. Study staff will track weight, side effects, medication adherence, and other health measures during follow-up visits. The goal is to find patterns that predict who benefits most from each medication so future care can be better tailored.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help match each person to the anti-obesity medication most likely to work for them, improving weight loss while reducing unnecessary cost and side effects.
How similar studies have gone: While drugs such as semaglutide have produced substantial average weight loss, individual responses vary widely and personalized prescribing remains a promising but still unproven approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Phenomix Sciences, LLC
Menlo Park, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bagnall, Mark — Phenomix Sciences, LLC
- Study coordinator: Bagnall, Mark
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.