The Allurion Program, An Emerging Novel Treatment For Type 2 Diabetes And Prediabetes

On 9th November 2021, Allurion, the world’s first and only weight loss device that requires no surgery, endoscopy, or anaesthesia, announced new clinical data on the Allurion Program as an emerging novel treatment for Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. The Allurion Balloon is available across clinics in the United Arab Emirates and has been clinically proven to treat patients living with these conditions, bringing them into disease remission.

Diabetes, ‘the silent pandemic’, impacts one in five in the UAE, which is three times deadlier than COVID-19. The UAE is currently ranked the 10th-highest in the world for diabetes prevalence, according to Dubai Health Authority, and yet Type 2 diabetes, which affects the majority of adults with the disease (only 10% are estimated to have Type 1 diabetes) is described as preventable in nearly half of all cases. Scalable and effective treatment options are urgently needed. As weight management is thought to be the most important therapeutic task for most people living with obesity and Type 2 diabetes, having a range of effective weight management treatments is vital. With this in mind, Allurion, a pioneering leader in the development of innovative, scalable and trusted weight loss experiences, presents a transformative solution. The data showed that for people with diabetes,  after four months, the mean haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) decreased from 7.0% to 5.5% with a mean weight loss of 19.3kg in patients with diabetes. Remission of diabetes is typically defined as lowering HbA1c to below 6.5%, indicating that the average patient in the diabetes group achieved remission after just four months.

Data shows the global prevalence of Type 2 diabetes will affect 4.4% of the global population by 2030^[3]. And as obesity and Type 2 diabetes continue to increase worldwide, medications as the primary treatment may not be sufficient, hence the need for all-encompassing methods such as the procedure-less Allurion Program, which helps with weight management and presents a new option for all living with diabetes and prediabetes.

The Allurion Program is based on good healthcare and good science, it is a proven program that takes a holistic approach to losing weight. At the centre of the programme is a swallowable pill that expands in the stomach to around the size of a grapefruit. Requiring no surgical insertion, this world-first technology is placed during a brief 20-minute visit and passes naturally after approximately 16 weeks, allowing patients to lose an average of 10 to 15% within that time frame.

Studies following other bariatric surgical procedures have demonstrated that a weight loss of around 15kg can lead to remission of Type 2 diabetes in most people living with obesity and Type 2 diabetes. This remission is even more likely if the patient loses the weight nearer to their diabetes diagnosis and quickly. This new ground-breaking data on the Allurion Program builds on these studies, demonstrating that a lifestyle change program alongside the Allurion Intragastric Balloon, can also deliver clinically significant and life-changing health benefits. Maintaining healthy lifestyle changes and weight loss is vital to sustaining these health benefits. Published evidence demonstrates that the Allurion Program (a lifestyle change program, digital tools and the temporary Allurion Balloon), delivers sustained weight loss, with up to 95% of the weight loss maintained by patients a year down the line.

In an abstract submitted and accepted for presentation at ObesityWeek® 2021, the Allurion Gastric Balloon Program was noted as an emerging novel treatment for Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. Dr. Ram Chuttani, co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Allurion commented on the clinical study which included 226 patients, all of whom had been diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic or pre-diabetic (highly likely to go on to develop type 2 diabetes in the future).

“The Allurion Program provides patients with an effective tool to reduce HbA1c and put Type 2 diabetes into remission,” said Dr. Ram Chuttani, Chief Medical Officer of Allurion. “These results underscore the benefits of the Allurion Program beyond weight loss and highlight how quickly the Allurion Program can have an impact on patients with Type 2 Diabetes or prediabetes.”

For more information, please visit https://allurion.com/en/find-clinic