The Digest

New research reveals that clinical study participants with Type 2 diabetes who experienced benefit with Pendulum Glucose Control had higher levels of butyrate and ursodeoxycholate in their plasma.

SAN FRANCISCO, January 25, 2022  — Pendulum Therapeutics, a leader in harnessing evidence-based microbiome science and DNA sequencing to develop novel medical probiotics, announces the publication of its study in the January 8, 2022 issue of BMC Microbiology. 

The peer-reviewed paper, entitled "Increased Circulating Butyrate and Ursodeoxycholate During Probiotic Intervention in Humans with Type 2 Diabetes” demonstrated that people with Type 2 diabetes participating in a 12-week placebo-controlled, double blinded, randomized trial of Pendulum Glucose Control showed increased levels of (1) the short-chain fatty acid butyrate and (2) the secondary bile acid ursodeoxycholate (UDCA).

Pendulum Glucose Control is a proprietary blend of 5 microbial strains and a prebiotic (inulin), which was designed to improve blood-glucose control by targeting specific functions in the gut microbiome.

This research indicates compelling links between the clinical improvements in glycated hemoglobin (A1C) and elevated levels of butyrate and UDCA, which is produced by bacteria metabolizing bile acids by the liver. 

“This is the first demonstration of a probiotic increasing butyrate levels accompanied by a lowering of A1C and blood-glucose spikes in people with Type 2 diabetes.” says John Eid, PhD, CSO and Co-Founder at Pendulum. “We demonstrated this mechanism of action in the lab and now in humans, showing that our novel Pendulum Glucose Control strains produce substantial amounts of butyrate and also produce the bile acid UDCA.”

Numerous peer-reviewed publications have shown that butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid that is key to a healthy gut microbiome and healthy metabolism.1 2 3 4 Pendulum Glucose Control's ability to produce butyrate—which stimulates GLP1 release—is one of the mechanisms by which it exerts its beneficial effects in people with Type 2 diabetes.

“Over the past decade, it has been demonstrated that the gut microbiome plays an important role in keeping blood-glucose levels within the normal range,” says Orville Kolterman, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Pendulum. “Production of butyrate and UDCA creates molecules that serve as signals which participate in the control of metabolic processes throughout the body. The confirmation that these changes result in improved glucose control in people with Type 2 diabetes is welcome news.”
 
Colleen Cutcliffe, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder at Pendulum, shared excitement about the company’s leadership in microbiome research, stating, “This research will enable us to create improved products, and it also further advances the clinical and scientific foundation of a microbiome-based approach to health.”

About Pendulum Therapeutics

Pendulum Therapeutics believes products developed using evidence-based microbiome science and DNA sequencing can help support a healthy body from within. Armed with 13 patents and 42 pending, the company introduced its flagship product Pendulum Glucose Control, a medical probiotic, in 2020 and demonstrated its efficacy in lowering blood sugar spikes and reducing A1C in individuals with T2D taking metformin in a published clinical trial. Founded in 2012 by a diverse team of scientists with deep microbiology, biochemistry, computational, and clinical expertise, Pendulum has raised $111 million to date from Meritech Capital, Sequoia Capital, True Ventures, Khosla Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures, and Mayo Clinic among others. Pendulum Therapeutics is headquartered in San Francisco.

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