Devices & Diagnostics, MedCity Influencers

Why stomach balloons are the future of healthcare

These balloons help people eat less and feel full faster and most importantly, do not involve going under the knife. The birth of the stomach balloon industry is no accident, and it is emblematic of trends that are taking hold of healthcare systems around the world.

Photo: Orbera Gastric Balloon from Apollo Endosurgery

Photo: Orbera Gastric Balloon from Apollo Endosurgery

The numbers are staggering: More than 2 billion people worldwide and nearly one-quarter of children and adolescents in developed countries are overweight or obese, and if this trend continues, over half the world’s population will be overweight or obese by 2030. The impact of obesity on global GDP is estimated to be $2 trillion annually.

Yet there is another statistic that is equally staggering. Only 1 percent to 2 percent of people with moderate to severe obesity who qualify for weight loss surgery go on to get it.

Just think about that for a minute. Weight loss surgeries like sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass have been widely accepted by physicians as effective, long-term treatments for obesity and more recently, even for diabetes. Yet 99 percent of people who qualify for these treatments do not receive them. While they are widely accepted by physicians, they are not accepted by consumers.

I use the word consumer instead of patient intentionally. People struggling with weight issues are some of the most knowledgeable consumers in the healthcare marketplace. They spend hours online researching different weight loss methods, wrestle with their insurance companies to get coverage (25 percent of consumers are denied coverage three times before getting approval), and struggle with the hidden costs they incur post-surgery. With this knowledge comes hesitation. Do they really want a procedure that permanently alters their body or can lead to potentially fatal side effects? The answer for the 99 percent is a strong no.

This unmet need has given rise to an entirely new field of weight loss therapies that are more effective than diet and exercise but less invasive and costly than surgery. These devices are delivered and removed without surgery and without permanently altering the stomach or intestines. They are intended to be more consumer-friendly and to chip away at that 99 percent who are left in limbo.

The most popular type of product in this class is a stomach (often referred to as ‘gastric’) balloon. The balloon is either swallowed or placed in the stomach using an endoscope and then removed or excreted several months later. These balloons help people eat less and feel full faster and most importantly, do not involve going under the knife. They are not intended to be a permanent fix for obesity but rather, another tool in the toolbox for physicians and consumers to consider, especially in individuals who say ‘no’ to surgery.

The birth of the stomach balloon industry is no accident, and it is emblematic of trends that are taking hold of healthcare systems around the world. Successful therapies are increasingly consumer-facing, experience-driven, and cost-effective.

The advent of high deductible health plans has shifted several consumers to consider paying out of pocket for healthcare. In weight loss, this problem is exacerbated by insurance companies that make it difficult for consumers to get coverage for certain types of therapies. While self-pay is frustrating for many consumers, it has turned the healthcare hierarchy on its head. With consumers reaching into their pockets to pay for products, they wield greater influence. Increasingly, companies and physicians around the world are becoming more sensitive to consumer preference. In addition to what I have already described in the obesity field, the amplification of the consumer voice has led to transformations in orthopedics and cardiology—two fields that historically have had strong coverage from payers.

Healthcare consumers want products that are safe and effective. That is a given. They also want an experience that is worth remembering and recommending to their friends and family. In the weight loss field, entrepreneurs have responded to this need above and beyond creating products that are less invasive than surgery. They are building programs to surround products like gastric balloons that combine a digital and human touch to enhance the consumer experience. In doing so, they have borrowed from other disciplines inside healthcare, including aesthetics. For example, the birth of the body contouring field was driven in part to the sub-optimal experience many consumers had with more invasive, time-consuming, and expensive liposuction procedures.

Consumer influence is rising, but so too is cost-effectiveness. With an annual cost of more than half a trillion dollars to the U.S., it is no surprise that all stakeholders inside the healthcare system are clamoring for more cost-effective solutions to the obesity epidemic. The growth of the non-surgical weight loss field was fueled in large part by the high costs associated with weight loss surgery, which runs on average between $15,000 and $20,000 in the U.S. The shift toward lower cost, non-surgical alternatives that can be delivered outside the operating room has been replicated in the treatment of various heart diseases, aesthetics, and even sinus ailments.

The growth of the non-surgical weight loss field—and gastric balloons in particular—may come to no surprise to my colleagues in digital health where the user experience and consumer preference is always front and center. This culture has led to disruptive products that have effectively democratized consumer health. Anyone with a smartphone can now become an active participant in the healthcare system.

The medical device field is getting there, but we are not there yet. There is still plenty of room to scale existing technologies so they serve more consumers and provide better experiences at a lower cost. We better move quickly, because the most pressing unmet needs in our healthcare system are going nowhere fast.


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Shantanu Gaur

Shantanu Gaur founded Allurion and has served as Allurion's Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Allurion Board since September 2009. Dr. Gaur founded Allurion while at Harvard Medical School in 2009. Dr. Gaur graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Biology from Harvard College and with an M.D. from Harvard Medical School where he was a Paul Revere Frothingham Scholar and Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow. Dr. Gaur is qualified to serve as Chief Executive Officer and director of Allurion because of his experience founding Allurion, serving as its Chief Executive Officer and serving on the Allurion Board.

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