Tethys Bioscience and Lose it! Announce a Strategic Partnership to Support Diabetes Prevention

EMERYVILLE, Calif. and BOSTON, July 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Tethys Bioscience, developers of the PreDx® Diabetes Risk Score (DRS) blood test that predicts the 5-year probability of progression to type 2 diabetes among adults with prediabetes, and Lose It!, the consumer weight-loss program, are combining their technologies to improve weight loss and diabetes prevention. The terms of partnership call for the PreDx DRS to be incorporated into the Lose it! weight loss program. This agreement follows the completion of a 3-month assessment conducted in primary care practices, which showed that the combined use of their two technologies extended the average "days of engagement" with the Lose It! program by over 10%, and was associated with significant weight-loss. 

"We know from diabetes prevention studies that healthy eating and physical activity can lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A challenge has been motivating patients to make and then continue these lifestyle changes," said Juan P. Frias, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Tethys Bioscience. "The impact we observed when our technologies were combined confirms our belief that an informed patient - one who is aware of the likelihood that they may progress to type 2 diabetes - may be more motivated to adhere to a weight-loss program."

Charles Teague, Co-founder and CEO of Lose It!, concurs. "To our knowledge, this is the first time a novel prognostic test has been paired with a leading consumer weight-loss program to evaluate the power of the combined technologies. Our partnership with Tethys reinforces the link for the user between their risk for disease and action they can take to lower that risk, which may lead to better long-term results.  It also enhances our ability to connect with people who are in greatest need of the service we offer – an easily accessed, user-friendly program combined with technology that will help them lose weight and lower their risk for developing type 2 diabetes."

About the Tethys/Lose It! 3-Month Program

Tethys and Lose It! conducted a 3-month program in three primary care practices to evaluate whether an individual's knowledge of their likelihood of progression to type 2 diabetes, as measured by the PreDx DRS, would increase his or her use of the Lose It! application. The number of days that participants used the application ("days of engagement"), the percent of participants that used Lose It! for greater than 2 weeks, and self-reported weight loss were assessed.

Eighty-nine patients (54 men; 35 women) ranging from 20 to 70 years of age participated in the program between November 2011 and January 2012. All were provided with their PreDx DRS results by their physician before starting the Lose it! program, with the majority (75%) electing to use the Lose It! smart-phone application.

Results showed that the average "days of engagement" for participants was 10% longer than that of the typical Lose It! consumer.

The 27 participants with greater than 2 week's engagement averaged 51 years of age and 53 "days of engagement." Their mean PreDx DRS was 4.9 out of 10 ("moderate risk") – with 12 (44%) at low risk, 7 (26%) at moderate risk, and 8 (30%) at high-risk. Their average starting body weight was 221 pounds and their initial BMI was 35 (Note: 90% of the participants had a BMI >30, defining them as obese). At the conclusion of the 3-month program, they had lost approximately 10 pounds (4.5% of their body weight). In one very successful case, a 60-year old participant with 113  "days of engagement" lost 15 pounds (7.5% of his body weight) and his DRS was reduced from 9.7 ("high risk") to 5.7 ("moderate risk").

About the PreDx® DRS

PreDx® DRS is a fasting blood test that combines the results of seven predictive biomarkers, plus age and gender, into a numerical score that predicts the 5-year likelihood of progression to type 2 diabetes among adults with prediabetes, a condition that places them at increased likelihood of progression to the disease.  Validated by the Tethys Clinical Laboratory (TCL) in a number of large populations, the PreDx DRS has been shown to be highly accurate in predicting likelihood of progression to diabetes, as well as a reliable method for monitoring the impact of lifestyle interventions on a patient's likelihood of progression to diabetes. The PreDx DRS is intended to be used in conjunction with other clinical information to aid healthcare providers in determining optimal prevention strategies to delay or prevent the onset of diabetes.

The PreDx DRS is currently performed exclusively by the CLIA‐certified Tethys Clinical Laboratory located in Emeryville, CA.

About Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 95% of diabetes cases, is a preventable chronic disease that afflicts 26 million American adults, and threatens an additional 81 million diagnosed with prediabetes, a condition that increases risk of developing the disease. Caused by defects in multiple biological pathways, type 2 diabetes is characterized by elevated blood glucose levels that result from the body's inability to properly utilize insulin, or to produce sufficient quantities of the hormone.

A chronic and debilitating disease, type 2 diabetes is associated with significant microvascular (e.g., eye, kidney, and nerve) and macrovascular (e.g., cardiovascular) complications, as well as an increased vulnerability for depression, Alzheimer's disease, a number of cancers and premature death.

About Lose It!
Lose It! is a consumer weight-loss program that uses proven principles of weight loss (tracking and peer support) along with technology to help people manage their weight and improve their health. Originally created for the iPhone in 2008 (and downloaded by more than 10 million people), Lose It! is now available across many mobile and Wi-Fi devices, and at Loseit.com. Consumers have lost tens of millions of pounds on the Lose It! weight loss program. For more information please visit www.Loseit.com.

About Tethys Bioscience, Inc.

Tethys Bioscience is a cardiometabolic diagnostics company that creates and commercializes biomarker‐based blood tests that predict likelihood of progression to chronic disease and enable targeted intervention to forestall the onset of chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes. Tethys initiated sales of its first product – the PreDx® DRS – in 2009, and has processed 85,000 to date. Additional products are in development to determine likelihood of first‐time heart attack, osteoporotic fracture and other cardiometabolic diseases. For more information about Tethys and PreDx DRS, please visit www.tethysbio.com.

CONTACT: Caitlyn Waller Krebs
Tethys Bioscience, Inc.
[email protected]
1-888-483-8497

SOURCE Tethys Bioscience, Inc.