I bet we’ll be hearing a lot more about Gelesis and their upcoming anti-obesity supplement, Attiva pretty soon.
Attiva is not a drug. It’s a pill composed of food-based polymers, so it’s basically a natural supplement.
You take Attiva with a glass of water before eating a normal meal. When the pill hits your stomach the polymers in Attiva swell to 100 times their normal size, turning into a gel that makes you feel full. Meanwhile the gel meshes with your food, creating a thicker-than-normal slush in your stomach which slows the digestion process. Once your stomach contents move on to your small intestine, sugar and fatty acid absorption into the bloodstream are also delayed…sort of a one-two punch.
The best part is that you just poop out Attiva with the rest of your waste. It never enters your bloodstream – it just passes through your digestive system. It’s essentially as effective as stomach-reducing surgeries, but without any of the risks or complications of surgery.
There are some videos explaining the process here.
Attiva just completed its first clinical trial, and the results seem promising.
The only other non-invasive obestity treatment with any real promise that I’ve seen has been hoodia gordonii, a rare plant native to South Africa. I watched the BBC documentary about hoodia a few years ago and was pretty impressed…however it’s been seven years since that documentary aired and a prescription drug which uses its active ingredient – the “P57 molecule” – has yet to hit the market.
There’s plenty of unregulated over-the-counter supplements that claim to contain hoodia, but many either don’t have any or just don’t work at all.
Attiva seems like a neat approach to a growing problem. Heh.
Update 8/2014: Looks like Attiva has been renamed “Gelesis100” and, four years after coming out of the gate, they’re no closer to having a product that you can buy. Thanks a gauntlet of FDA hurdles I’m reading that Gelesis100 won’t be available to mere mortals until at least 2017.
Update 12/2021: 21 years after the initial announcement, the product once known as Attiva and Gelesis100 is now available. A one month supply of what they’re now calling Plenity is $100 and it requires a prescription, however you can get one within 24 hours after a free online consultation at MyPlenity.com, which feels a lot like the early days of weed dispensaries in California when they hired doctors to just stand there and write prescriptions all day.
Can anyone tell me when Attiva will be available to the general public?
It’s 2012 now, I would like to know how much longer will Attiva be available for general public?
I am really interested in trying this product out as soon as possible , and will insurance cover some of the cost?
how do i get this pills ?
Is is available now and where can you buy it… Thanks
Where can I purchase Attiva? I cannot find anyone that carries it.
When is Attiva going to be available… we all need it now !
I sent an email to Gelesis and this is their response: Thank you very much for your interest in Gelesis and the Attiva™ product. Due to the volume of inquiries, we may not be able to respond to your email personally in a timely manner. We are therefore providing additional guidance here. Attiva™ is not currently available for purchase as clinical development is ongoing. We are a clinically driven company and it’s important for us to ensure that our products go through the regulatory steps that are necessary. We will keep your information on file and will do our best to update you when the product is on the market. If you are writing to volunteer for future clinical trials, we will keep your information on file and will contact you if we are able to refer you to a clinical site near your location. Note that we may be restricted by regulations but will do our best to update you if we think there is information that is relevant and that we are able to share. If you are writing about distribution, we will keep your information on file and contact you when we are making decisions regarding distribution. For all other inquiries, we will do our best to get back to you and appreciate your patience. Thanks again for your note and we are committed to moving this product forward so that it can provide benefit. Best Regards, The Gelesis Team
How do I get it
Thanks for your post PEGGY… Good to know!!! 🙂
What’s the difference between Gelesis & metamucil?
Have you heard anything else from the company? By the way thanj s for the past post!
When will this supplement be available to the public?
Where could I buy it?
It is now 2017 and am 275 and is affecting my health and way of life. I am offering myself for any testing that you need in the Nebraska area. I am 55 and want to feel good again. I want to try it and give back my feedback. I will give you my honest no shit feedback. Please!!!
Is this pill now available to buy?
No it’s still not available. But just was awarded Fda approval as a medical device for 25% to 40%BMI or Obese levels. But NOT as a prescription capsule. (Even though that’s what it really is). I guess it must be less stringent to get device approval rather that a drug approval?? But it should be available early 2020 in a limited targeted supply. So probably late 2020 or early 2021 for a full roll out!? I question when or if insurance companies are going to recognize this as a device that they will cover? At 3 capsules prior to a meal this could get expensive quickly with no insurance coverage.
price has not been released but I have saw estimates of 12-14 per capsule as a starting point.