Vivani Medical Announces Positive NPM-115 Preclinical Weight Loss Data Comparable to Ozempic/Wegovy and Discloses NPM-139 as Semaglutide as Strategy Shifts to Prioritize Obesity Portfolio

Vivani Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: VANI) (“Vivani” or the “Company”), an innovative, preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel, long-term drug implants, today announced positive preclinical data on weight loss effects for NPM-115, the Company’s miniature, twice-yearly, exenatide implant under development for the treatment of chronic weight management. The Company also disclosed that semaglutide is the active pharmaceutical ingredient in NPM-139, a miniature, subdermal GLP-1 implant in development for chronic weight management, with the added potential benefit of once-yearly administration. These developments are part of a strategic shift to prioritize the Company’s obesity implants based on emerging data regarding the potential for high-dose GLP-1 products to improve health outcomes for obese and overweight patients.

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Weight difference from control in healthy Sprague-Dawley Rats. % weight change from baseline for NPM-119 (exenatide) corrected to control (vehicle implant). Values are mean ± SE. (Photo: Business Wire)

“In response to tremendous medical need and unprecedented market demand, we are prioritizing the development of our GLP-1 implants for the treatment of obesity and chronic weight management. Since a high-dose GLP-1 implant for obesity would likely also be able to address our previous type 2 diabetes focus, the recently generated compelling weight loss data from NPM-115 naturally supports a shift in focus towards an indication with even broader potential. We believe the primary expected advantages of our proprietary NanoPortal implant technology, improving medication adherence and medication tolerability, have the potential to transform and advance the adoption of GLP-1 therapy in the future.” said Adam Mendelsohn, Ph.D., Vivani President and Chief Executive Officer. “The potential for long-term GLP-1 implants becomes even more compelling when you consider that the improved adherence and persistence of Ozempic and Wegovy over prior obesity medications is still only 40% as recently reported in a large retrospective cohort study published in the research journal Obesity. Collectively, the potential for improvement in medication adherence, tolerability and real-world patient outcomes motivates us to rapidly advance the development of NPM-115, NPM-139 and the balance of our portfolio.”