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Will it be the best thing since sliced bread?
Keto is a high-fat, moderate-protein and low-carb diet designed to plunge the body into ketosis, where it burns fat instead of carbs for fuel.
Dieters often shed up to 10 pounds the first two weeks — mainly water weight — while long-term loss is typically one or two pounds a week.
Now, researchers at Bloom Science have developed an experimental drug they say reproduces the metabolic effects of the keto diet — without any restrictions on the food you love.
“Our goal is to translate some of the metabolic biology of the ketogenic diet into a therapy people may be able to take as an oral daily capsule,” Bloom Science CEO Christopher Reyes told The Post.
BL-001 is in early clinical development — its safety and effectiveness need to be confirmed in larger trials.
The pill is composed of live bacteria naturally found in our gut microbiome, the collection of viruses, bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms that play key roles in digesting our food, training our immune system and protecting against disease.
The idea is that certain bacterial strains may engage with the microbiome in ways that affect fat metabolism and ketogenesis.
“Based on early research, we believe interactions within the gut microbiome may influence processes involved in fat utilization, appetite signaling and broader metabolic regulation,” Reyes explained.
The targeted microbiome-based approach and its pharmaceutical-grade development is what helps distinguish BL-001 from traditional probiotics that support gut health, Reyes said.
His team is evaluating the pill’s potential to drive meaningful weight loss while also examining its effects on appetite control and overall metabolism.
The Phase 1 trial had 24 healthy volunteers take BL-001 and eight others swallow a placebo for 28 consecutive days.
Bloom said that the overweight participants who received the highest dose of BL-001 experienced weight loss of 3.4% by the end of the two-week follow-up period.
In fact, 80% of participants who dropped weight maintained their results two weeks post-dose.
“In our Phase 1 clinical study, BL-001 appeared to be generally well-tolerated, with no serious adverse events reported,” Reyes said.
“As with any new therapy, long-term safety is something we’re continuing to study carefully in clinical trials. Ongoing research will continue to monitor how these strains interact with the gut microbiome over time.”
Phase 1b trials are underway. Bloom is enrolling up to 48 obese adults across two clinical sites in Australia. BL-001 will be given over 12 weeks.
Now, it’s too early to tell how BL-001 stacks up against GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound that mimic the GLP-1 hormone the body naturally produces after eating.
But that’s an audience that Bloom hopes to target — obese adults who qualify for GLP-1s but don’t go for the treatment because they don’t want to inject themselves or they are concerned about potential gastrointestinal side effects.
“Our goal is to develop a therapy that could ultimately be accessible to a large number of patients if clinical trials continue to show positive results,” Reyes said.
