- Israeli foodtech startup Lembas has emerged from stealth with “GLP-1 Edge,” a bioactive peptide that triggers the production of GLP-1 and other gut hormones that regulate appetite and metabolism.
- Founded in 2024 by Shay Hilel (CEO), Dr. Zohar Barbash (CTO), Prof. Maayan Gal (CSO) and Dr. Daniel Bar, Lembas has raised a $3.6 million pre-seed round led by FLORA Ventures, with participation from Bluestein Ventures, Fresh Fund, Longevity Venture Partners, Maia Ventures, Siddhi Capital, Mandi Ventures and SDH Ventures.
- Lembas’ patent-pending technology, utilizing AI to discover, design, and screen bioactive peptides, is licensed from Tel Aviv University, and has attracted interest from global food and supplement companies keen to address a “massive unmet need,” claims the firm.
‘We are achieving the same thing as intermittent fasting, except you don’t feel hungry when you miss a meal’
While blockbuster drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy are disrupting the weight loss market, many people cannot access, afford or tolerate them.
As a result, a flurry of “natural” alternatives has emerged, from Akkermansia Muciniphila, a bacterium claimed by supplement brand Pendulum to increase GLP-1 production, to Supergut, which has a blend of resistant starches and prebiotic fibers pitched as a “GLP-1 booster.”
Pendulum cites a study showing Akkermansia increased GLP-1 production in mice on a high-fat diet, while Supergut has a human study showing improved glycemic control and a small reduction in bodyweight in type 2 diabetics, although it didn’t measure GLP-1.
While there isn’t a great deal of human clinical data on ingredients that naturally stimulate GLP-1, says Dr. Edward Deehan at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, there is evidence that fermentable fibers can promote satiety, have bulking effects and slow gastric emptying. But fibers nd other foods are “not going to have the same effects” as drugs like Ozempic that resist enzymatic degradation and linger in the body for days, he argues.
So what makes Lembas’ peptide different?
According to CTO Zohar Barbash, “We’ve created a peptide that binds to multiple receptors and makes them work harder than they usually do when you eat say a steak or a high fat cheese.
“We are also encapsulating the peptide so it is being released [in the gut] over a long period of time,” she tells AgFunderNews: “So each time the receptor is tired, we give it another boost. It’s mimicking how fatty food works [to impact satiety], but without the calories. It’s not like GLP-1 drugs that make you feel full all the time. It’s more like you can skip one meal per day as we are just mimicking the natural way that the receptors are working, receptors that are well-known and well-characterized.”
She adds: “It’s also not just about GLP-1, it’s also about [triggering the production of] PYY, GIP, amylin and other hormones [associated with appetite regulation], plus your insulin is going up. The peptide is causing a cascade of events that make you feel satiated. But not for 18 hours… more like six hours.
“We are achieving the same thing as intermittent fasting, except you don’t feel hungry when you miss a meal. Let’s say you wake up really hungry. You take the peptide and you feel like you have eaten a steak and you are not hungry for six hours. You can then have your lunch and dinner as usual. And all the research shows that if you eat 30% fewer calories, you’re going to lose weight pretty quickly.”
Initially, the peptide will likely be sold as a supplement, but it could also be incorporated into bars, shakes, snacks, and beverages, she says.
“The discovery of GLP-1 is the biggest disruptor the food industry has faced in decades. Lembas is the first science-backed company enabling food players to seize this disruptive opportunity by setting a new bar for food-as-medicine.” Gil Horsky, founding chairman, Lembas; managing partner at FLORA Ventures
‘The rats are eating less and losing weight’
Barbash, who has a background in cancer research, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals, adds: “We are testing it just like a pharma product. It’s not just a case of showing that the receptors are activated, we are testing that the GLP-1 is released for a longer time. Our strength is in using AI to model the peptide and see it is binding not just one, but several receptors, which increases the ability to secrete GLP-1 from the intestinal cells into the bloodstream.
“We are testing it first in cell lines to see the dynamics of the work of the receptors, how and why are they activated. There are 13 [relevant] receptors and we’re testing each one of them. And then we’re testing organoids [simplified versions of human organs grown in the lab] and animal models. Right now, we are doing tests with obese rats. We’re doing this first of all to show that the peptide is safe, they’re digesting it well, and the receptors are activating. But we’re also seeing that the rats are eating less and losing weight.”
A human clinical trial is now planned for the peptide, which will be sold to food or supplement companies, says CEO Shay Hilel, who is also exploring licensing approaches. “The goal is to have regulatory approval (GRAS in the US) towards the end of 2026, the beginning of 2027. We also need to build strategic partnerships.”
The pre-seed funding “will take us through the end of 2026,” he says. “But based on the preclinical data, we believe that we will be able to gain either strategic partner money or big VCs that will be joining [a new funding round].”
To make the peptide, it could be assembled from the ground up, produced via microbial fermentation or extracted from a natural food source, says Barbash. “Our main strength is that the sequence of the peptide is natural. We’re just supplying a higher dose. But it’s quickly digested; it’s not like a small molecule that stays in your body. It basically hits the receptors and dies.”
According to Hilel: “The final product won’t be super expensive, but it’s going to be premium ingredient.”
Gil Horsky: ‘It’s still a complete white space’
At lead investor FLORA Ventures, Gil Horsky says large food companies have been publicly playing down the impact of GLP-1 drugs but privately scrambling to respond, whether by investigating “natural” alternatives or tweaking their portfolios to support GLP-1 users via companion products.
“When the GLP-1 craze started I immediately got quite obsessed about it from the food side having worked for many years at Mondelez and PepsiCo,” says Horsky. “And right now the pharma industry is literally eating the lunch of the big food companies. First, by making people eat less, and second, by reaping billions out of these drugs. So if you can’t beat them, join them.”
He adds: “Lembas has been completely in stealth, but the number of large food companies and ingredient players that have been knocking on its door shows there is a huge need. From the beginning, we said we’ll help you guys incubate and bring other investors. We also did the due diligence to see who else is working on this, and there’s very few other companies. And nobody is doing what Lembas is doing. It’s still a complete white space.”
Lembas’ computational AI-powered discovery platform can screen, analyze and design food-grade bioactive peptides to accelerate the discovery of many more ingredients delivering a broader range of health benefits, says Hilel.
But right now the company is laser-focused on commercializing GLP-1 Edge, he says. “There are a lot of platform players out there using AI for ingredient discovery, but from the beginning we decided to focus on weight management because it’s a huge opportunity even though there are a lot of players knocking on our door and asking [what else we can do].”
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