Kennedy also revealed to the Herald that her young firm’s revenue tripled from $5m to $15m last year, driven by growth in North America.
She expects it to double again this year – and more so after the release of her firm’s fourth clinical trial.
The double-blind, placebo-controlled, 24-week study of 150 overweight adults found those taking Calocurb pills lost an average 4.5kg or 5.3% of their weight with no muscle mass loss – and, in fact, a slight muscle gain.
Calocurb founder and chief executive Sarah Kennedy says she uses her firm’s product for intermittent fasting.
Kennedy says she did 30 regional TV interviews on the back of the clinical trial results, which helped to spike demand.
The research was carried out by long-time Calocurb partner Plant & Food Research, the Crown agency recently merged with other CRIs into the Bioeconomy Science Institute (also a shareholder in Calocurb; a Calocurb TikTok post featuring the Institute’s Dr Edward Walker is meticulous in detailing the methodology of the clinical trial, but also includes a SHOW NOW button.)
The slight gain in muscle mass was annoying to Kennedy in that it dragged down the average weight-loss figure, but overall it’s a key selling point, given muscle loss is one of the key side effects that’s caused Americans to “off-ramp” from GLP-1 drugs.
She says some Americans have to stop GLP-1 drugs because health insurance companies stop funding them if your body mass index (BMI) falls below 30, the marker for obesity.
Regardless, a tidalwave of Americans are on GLP-1 drugs.
A Gallup poll released in July this year found 15% of US adults have been on a GLP-1 medication, with 11% or one in nine Americans currently on one of the drugs.
That equates to around 10 million adult Americans on Ozempic and its peers.
JP Morgan says that will rise to 30 million by 2030. The numbers have already been large enough to reshape the fast-food, meal-kit and restaurant sectors, where small-portion, higher-protein meals are being offered.
Dr Edward Walker, of Plant & Food, with Calocurb CEO Sarah Kennedy in 2022. The Government recently rolled Plant & Food and several other CRIs into the new Bioeconomy Science Institute.
The numbers could accelerate because the first GLP-1 drugs in pill form are coming on to the market, while variants that promise fewer side effects are in the works.
Costs are also coming down, although they still cost hundreds of dollars a month compared to the over-the-counter Calocurb’s US$89.95.
GLP-1 drugs work by mimicking the Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 hormone which, in individuals with healthy blood sugar levels, tells your body when it’s full.
Hunger can spike when people come off the drugs. Various studies have found rapid weight gain, including a Cambridge University survey that found an average 60% of lost weight is put back on within a year.
Between side effects, insurance hassles, and regaining weight, many Americans are cycling on and off GLP-1 drugs.
Kennedy says Calocurb, a natural supplement based on hops, is not trying to compete with the GLP-1 pharmaceuticals.
She pitches it as a complement. People could take Calocurb to ease hunger pains as they “off-ramp” from a GLP-1.
For others, it allows them to reduce their GLP-1 dose.
Or they could use it independently of the new drugs. Kennedy says she sometimes takes a Calocurb pill (whose effects last for four to six hours) to aid intermittent fasting.
“Or if I know I’m going to eat out late and don’t want to snack beforehand or dive into the bread basket when I get to the restaurant.”
Based on Motueka hops, taxpayer-funded research
Calocurb’s active ingredient, derived from hops grown in Motueka, is the patented Amarasate – which is pitched as a trigger of the GLP-1 hormone that makes you feel full – and a natural, more affordable alternative to the two injectable GLP-1 pharmaceuticals.
Hops are best known these days as an ingredient in trendy craft beers. But folklore holds that Scots used to chew the bitter, cone-shaped flowers during times of famine to suppress hunger.
For some, their bodies see hops as a toxin, and they get diarrhoea. So, along, with many glowing accounts on the likes of Reddit, some people have complained about upset tummies and getting the runs when they take Calocurb.
“It is a biologically active product. In 10% of people, you get a laxative effect,” Kennedy says. “But compare that to the [GLP-1] drugs, where about 70% of people have side effects.”
Amarasate was developed by a Crown Research Institute (CRI), Plant and Food Research, with a $20 million grant from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) in 2010.
The CRI approached supplement industry veteran Sarah Kennedy, who in 2021 formed Calocurb to commercialise the product.
Kennedy’s firm pays an undisclosed licensing fee on sales in return for exclusive international rights to Amarasate. Plant and Food also got a 5% stake in Calocurb (diluted to 3.5% with the Series A round) in return for further research.
The backers
An August 10 Companies Office update lists Icehouse Ventures as Calocurb’s largest investor with a 76.7% stake.
Kennedy has a 5.8% holding.
The $27m Series A round was led by Icehouse Ventures via $9m from its own venture capital funds, a $10m co-investment from Generate (the KiwiSaver fund manager that has put $40m into Icehouse) and $8m from Icehouse wholesale investor partners.
“Generate’s investment in Calocurb marks our fourth direct investment facilitated by Icehouse Ventures. We are excited that our members get to support the growth of another Kiwi company that is kicking goals on the global stage,” said Generate co-founder and chief investment officer Sam Goldwater.
“New Zealand punches above its weight in science. Where we have historically fallen short is turning that science into globally significant companies and making sure New Zealanders share in the upside when we do,” said Icehouse Ventures partner Jason Wang.
Today, 90% of Calocurb’s revenue is coming from the US.
Wang, who has been on Calocurb’s board since it backed a seed raise in 2021, saw a China launch by the end of next year.
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.