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May 20 (Reuters) - Certain genes may identify patients with obesity who are most likely to respond strongly to Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO), opens new tab weight-loss drug Wegovy, researchers reported on Monday.

The study, released at the Digestive Disease Week meeting in Washington, found a 95% likelihood that patients with this genetic profile would be strong responders to the treatment.

Given the expense of Wegovy, the findings might be used to identify the patients most likely to get the greatest benefit from it, according to Dr. Andres Acosta of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, one of the researchers.

Some people with obesity have a genetic profile that contributes to what is called a "hungry gut" - that is, they feel full during a meal but become hungry again shortly afterward because food leaves their stomach more quickly than in most other people, Acosta said.

The study involved 84 patients prescribed Wegovy for treatment of obesity. Those with the genetic variants associated with "hungry gut" lost an average of 14.4% of their total body weight after nine months on the drug and 19.5% after a year, the study found.

By comparison, study participants without this genetic profile lost 10.3% of their body weight after nine months and nothing more by 12 months.

Acosta said the researchers previously saw a similar pattern in patients taking the weight-loss drug liraglutide, which is marketed under the names Victoza and Saxenda by Novo Nordisk.

While patients without the "hungry gut" genes did lose some weight on Wegovy, they might be able to lose similar amounts with less-expensive therapies, Acosta said. The list price for Wegovy, also called semaglutide, is $1,349.02 per month.

"When you're going to spend this much money," Acosta said, "you have to ask, 'Is there a cheaper approach that will yield the same results in some patients, maybe other medications or surgery?'"

Larger studies are needed to assess the reliability of the "hungry gut" genetic profile in more diverse populations, the researchers said.

If the new results are confirmed, Acosta said, doctors can finally tell some of their patients, "'We know why you are struggling with obesity,' and we can say with confidence, 'This expensive drug will help you,' or, 'Hey, this might not be for you.'"

Trend of scaling back and reviewing plans highlights difficult economics of transitioning away from fossil fuels

A number of major European power companies have scaled back or are reviewing their targets to develop renewable energy because of high costs and low electricity prices, in a sign of the difficulties of transitioning away from fossil fuels.

Statkraft, Europe’s largest renewable energy producer, said this month that it was reviewing its annual targets for new renewables capacity, while Portuguese energy company EDP is cutting back its plans, citing high interest rates and lower power prices.

At the same time, Denmark’s Ørsted — the world’s largest offshore wind developer — has slashed its renewable targets for 2030 by more than 10GW, enough to supply potentially millions of homes, after it was forced to abandon two large projects in the US because of rising costs.

“We are seeing continued growth [of renewables], but at a slower pace,” Birgitte Ringstad Vartdal, chief executive of Statkraft, which is owned by the Norwegian state, told the Financial Times. 

Spanish energy giant Iberdrola said in April it would adopt a more “selective” approach to renewables and increase its focus on electricity grids. It no longer has an 80GW renewables target for 2030, but highlights its pipeline of 100GW.

Italian utility Enel announced in November that it would cut its investment in renewables, from €17bn between 2023 and 2025 to €12.1bn between 2024 and 2026. However, the company said it planned to continue increasing renewables capacity with partners to reach its target of 73GW by 2026.

“There has been a big reality check around renewables growth,” said Norman Valentine, head of renewables research at consultancy Wood Mackenzie. “There’s been a huge change in the cost environment.”

The picture is not universal: Germany’s RWE significantly increased its renewables target in November last year, from 50GW by 2030 to 65GW. 

There is a growing political focus on the need to develop renewables, with countries agreeing at the COP28 climate summit in November to work towards tripling capacity to 11,000GW by 2030. 

However, rising interest rates over the past few years have pushed up the costs of financing new projects, creating difficulties for some developers. Raw material costs have also risen, while in some markets, electricity prices have fallen. The often slow process of regulatory approval also creates challenges.

Some companies, including Enel, have said they want to invest more in upgrading electricity networks, which will be vital in the transition from fossil fuel to clean electric power. Iberdrola is planning to spend about 60 per cent of a planned €41bn of investment in the electricity grid. 

Ralph Ibendhal, head of Emea energy transition at RBC Capital Markets, noted that high interest rates meant renewables developers had to compete harder for investors.

“A 7-9 per cent return at project level looks less attractive when base rates are 5 per cent,” he said. “Many utilities also have opportunities to invest in other areas of their business (such as regulated networks) instead.”

Deepa Venkateswaran, head of utilities at Bernstein, said that companies were investing more in networks in the expectation of improved returns given their importance to the energy transition.

Iberdrola and French utility Engie have also recently cut or delayed targets for producing “green” hydrogen — a potential replacement for fossil fuels in several industries that is heavily dependent on subsidies. Iberdrola said it was “still waiting for funds to come through” for projects.

Despite the current challenges, Vartdal at Statkraft said she was confident the economics of projects would improve. Ibendhal, at RBC, agreed. 

“These things happen in waves — at the moment we are on a more downward part of the curve, but it will come back,” he said. 

It was again not a bad week for raising big. Two rounds to U.S.-based startups this week hit a quarter-of-a-billion dollars or more, and there were eight rounds of $100 million or more. Once again, biotech made up nearly a third of the list while some other sectors that don’t usually make the list — developer platform and analytics — were represented.

1. Uniquity Bio, $300M, biotech: It has become pretty much the norm to start off these lists with a big biotech raise. This week it was a brand new company launched by Blackstone Life Sciences — a unit of the private equity giant — along with a sizable $300 million investment. The new startup is a clinical-stage drug development company focused on immunology and inflammation. The company already has FDA acceptance of its Phase 2 investigational new drug application for one of its medicines.

2. Vercel, $250M, developer platform: Vercel, a platform that allows companies to develop web applications in the cloud, locked up a $250 million Series E at a valuation of $3.25 billion. The round was led by Accel, with participation from other existing investors including CRV, GV, Notable Capital (previously GGV Capital), Bedrock, Geodesic Capital, Tiger Global, 8VC and SV Angel. The new round is an upround from Vercel’s 2021 raise, when it secured $150 million in a Series D funding at a $2.5 billion valuation led by GGV Capital. The San Francisco-based company allows developers to use an open-source framework to create web applications, and tries to simplify the process to migrate websites to cloud infrastructure to help with accessibility. Vercel has a number of big-name customers such as Under Armour, Unity and Nintendo. The company said it recently surpassed $100 million in annualized revenue and more than 1 million monthly active developers. Founded in 2015, the company has raised $568 million, per Crunchbase.

3. Sigma, $200M, analytics: Cloud analytics startup Sigma raised a $200 million Series D co-led by Spark Capital and Avenir Growth Capital. Similar to Vercel, it was an upround from the company’s last financing. The San Francisco-based company said the valuation was a 60% increase from its $300 million Series C led by D1 Capital Partners and XN in 2021 and it was reported the new valuation was $1.5 billion. Founded in 2014, the company has raised $581 million, per Crunchbase.

4. Restaurant365, $175M, accounting: It was only about a year ago that Restaurant365 made this list, and now the startup is back with an even bigger raise. The Irvine, California-based startup raised a $175 million round led by ICONIQ Growth this week, after locking up a $135 million round co-led by KKR and L Catterton at a $1 billion valuation last May. Restaurant365 offers enterprise management software for restaurants, helping them take care of accounting, payroll, supply chain and more. Founded in 2011, the company has raised more than $438 million, per Crunchbase.

5. The Bot Company, $150M, robotics: No one likes cleaning the house, and perhaps soon you won’t have to anymore. Kyle Vogt, founder and former CEO of autonomous car startup Cruise, unveiled his newest startup this week. The Bot Company aims to develop robots that do “chores” for people. Nothing else much was disclosed about the company or what exactly those “chores” will be. The $150 million seed funding came from the likes of Quiet Capital, Stripe’s Patrick Collison and John Collison and others. Vogt left Cruise last year after a Cruise car hit and dragged a woman in San Francisco, causing regularos to suspend Cruise’s license to operate in California.

6. Weka, $140M, data: Weka locked up a $140 million Series E — raised in both a primary and secondary transaction — that values the data platform at $1.6 billion. The valuation is more than double what the company was last valued at after a $135 million Series D led by Generation Investment Management in late 2022. At the time, it was reported that the Campbell, California-based startup had a $750 million valuation after the raise. The new round was led by Valor Equity Partners. Weka helps companies move data between sources faster and more efficiently — something mandatory for companies building AI projects. Founded in 2013, Weka has now raised $375 million, according to Crunchbase. Its new round is just the latest big raise for an AI infrastructure company. In February, Lambda which offers cloud computing services and hardware for training artificial intelligence software, hit unicorn status after a $320 million Series C at a $1.5 billion valuation. And earlier this month, AI cloud infrastructure startup CoreWeave locked up a $1.1 billion round led by Coatue that values the company at $19 billion, per The Wall Street Journal.

7. Lycia Therapeutics, $107M, biotech: South San Francisco-based Lycia Therapeutics, a biotech company developing therapeutics that degrade extracellular and membrane-bound proteins that drive autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, completed a $106.6 million Series C led by Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners. Founded in 2019, the company has raised nearly $227 million, per Crunchbase.

8. Alkira, $100M, cloud infrastructure: San Jose, California-based Alkira, which allows companies to manage hybrid cloud assets, closed a $100 million Series C led by Tiger Global Management. Founded in 2018, Alkira has raised $176 million, per the company.

9 (tied). Ajax Therapeutics, $95M, biotech: Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Ajax Therapeutics, which is developing a drug for the bone marrow cancer myelofibrosis, raised a $95 million Series C led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives. Founded in 2019, the company has raised $135 million, per Crunchbase.

9 (tied). ByHeart, $95M, nutrition: New York-based ByHeart, an infant formula brand, locked up a $95 million of financing from undisclosed investors. The company also announced two new production facilities in Oregon and Iowa — allowing ByHeart to triple its supply capacity. Founded in 2016, ByHeart has raised a total of $395 million from investors including D1 Capital Partners, Polaris Partners and others.