Competition in the bariatric device space continues as several new weight loss approaches have surfaced in the past two months and yet another may soon enter the U.S. market.
Apollo Endosurgery (Austin, Texas) inherited both the Lap-Band and the Orbera intragastric balloon through its $110 million acquisition of Allergan's (Dublin, Ireland) obesity intervention division in 2013. The company reported pivotal trial results in May supporting the use of the Orbera balloon for weight loss and has submitted a premarket approval application, which is currently under FDA review. Apollo is a private, venture-backed company.