MENLO PARK, CA -- Entelos, Inc. announced today that the company has completed the third generation of its Entelos(R) Obesity PhysioLab(TM) system, a computer model of human obesity. Entelos conducts collaborative research with pharmaceutical partners as well as independent research, using the obesity PhysioLab system, to explore theories on metabolism and weight loss. Entelos Obesity PhysioLab is a dynamic large-scale model of human obesity that includes the functions and systems of whole-body metabolism. Using the obesity PhysioLab system, scientists can simulate the effects that diet, exercise, and novel drug therapies have on normal and obese virtual patients. Each virtual patient represents a unique combination of genetic, physiologic, and life-style factors. Researchers use the PhysioLab system to investigate the potential mechanisms of obesity; identify, validate, and prioritize drug targets; and simulate experiments and clinical trials. "In this generation of the obesity PhysioLab system, Entelos expanded the capability of the technology to simulate central nervous system and hormonal responses to diet and overeating," stated Seth Michelson, PhD, Vice President for In Silico Research & Development at Entelos. "This permits scientists to simulate, with a greater range and degree of sensitivity, how metabolism shifts in response to changes in eating behavior. Using this new capability, our scientists have been able to explore how diet affects metabolism in different populations of obese individuals." "Two obese patients can have the same body weight, but be very different in their disease," stated James Hill, Ph.D., Director of the University of Colorado's Center for Human Nutrition and an advisor to Entelos. "While that may seem obvious, obesity is often treated, in patients and in research, as a single condition with the expectation that a therapy that works for person one will work for others. It is often too costly and scientifically difficult to do otherwise. The obesity PhysioLab system permits researchers to understand the underlying pathophysiology that causes seemingly similar patients to respond differently to the same drug therapy. When you consider the many causes of weight gain, this knowledge and insight is invaluable to researchers. "What is exciting about Entelos' science and technology is their ability to overcome the complexity of this disease through computer simulation," continued Dr. Hill. "They can simulate disease progression by taking a normal patient and producing a weight gain due to a variety of influences such as overeating, poor diet, lack of exercise, or a variety of physiological abnormalities. Then, they test different therapies and weight loss programs on each type of patient and not only predict the outcome, but look at the changes to every variable in the system in order to understand why. This is a tremendous breakthrough for obesity research." "It appears unlikely that anyone will develop a magic bullet for obesity, a drug that will work well for anyone and everyone," said James Karis, President and CEO of Entelos. "We hope to advance research by characterizing different obese patient types using the obesity PhysioLab system. We are confident that our research collaborations will further the understanding of this disease and yield improved treatment programs for obese individuals." For further information visit www.entelos.com