found<\/a> an average 60% of lost weight is put back on within a year.<\/p>\nBetween side effects, insurance hassles, and regaining weight, many Americans are cycling on and off GLP-1 drugs.<\/p>\n
Kennedy says Calocurb, a natural supplement based on hops, is not trying to compete with the GLP-1 pharmaceuticals.<\/p>\n
She pitches it as a complement. People could take Calocurb to ease hunger pains as they \u201coff-ramp\u201d from a GLP-1.<\/p>\n
For others, it allows them to reduce their GLP-1 dose.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\u201cOr if I know I\u2019m going to eat out late and don\u2019t want to snack beforehand or dive into the bread basket when I get to the restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Based on Motueka hops, taxpayer-funded research<\/p>\n
Calocurb\u2019s active ingredient, derived from hops grown in Motueka, is the patented Amarasate \u2013 which is pitched as a trigger of the GLP-1 hormone that makes you feel full \u2013 and a natural, more affordable alternative to the two injectable GLP-1 pharmaceuticals.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a biologically active product. In 10% of people, you get a laxative effect,\u201d Kennedy says. \u201cBut compare that to the [GLP-1] drugs, where about 70% of people have side effects.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The CRI approached supplement industry veteran Sarah Kennedy, who in 2021 formed Calocurb to commercialise the product.<\/p>\n
Kennedy\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The backers<\/p>\n
An August 10 Companies Office update lists Icehouse Ventures as Calocurb\u2019s largest investor with a 76.7% stake.<\/p>\n
Kennedy has a 5.8% holding.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cGenerate\u2019s 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,\u201d said Generate co-founder and chief investment officer Sam Goldwater.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew 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,\u201d said Icehouse Ventures partner Jason Wang.<\/p>\n
Today, 90% of Calocurb\u2019s revenue is coming from the US. <\/p>\n
Wang, who has been on Calocurb\u2019s board since it backed a seed raise in 2021, saw a China launch by the end of next year.<\/p>\n
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald\u2019s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kennedy also revealed to the Herald that her young firm\u2019s revenue tripled from $5m to $15m last year,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":595185,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[121793,806,51,16424,138,75768,1288,13982,293282,1757,29433,702,13840,13106,1132,111,139,69,7014,197056,2081,11596,7493,21528,293283,18833,1963,24562,223,89497,12806,18953,46960],"class_list":["post-595184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-27m","tag-as","tag-auckland","tag-boom","tag-business","tag-calocurb","tag-capital","tag-continues","tag-dietsuppressing","tag-drugs","tag-glp1","tag-it","tag-like","tag-maker","tag-million","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-ozempic","tag-piggyback","tag-raised","tag-raises","tag-revenue","tag-rides","tag-riseandrise","tag-round","tag-series","tag-supplement","tag-the","tag-triples","tag-venture","tag-wegovy","tag-weightloss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/595185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}