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Syntis is unlocking the full therapeutic potential of the small intestine—the nexus for metabolic control, digestion and drug absorption.

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The Body’s Hidden Command Center

The small intestine (SI) is more than it appears–it is the body’s nexus of digestion, metabolic management and systemic drug delivery. Often called the “gut-brain axis,” this enteric nervous system contains a complex network of over 100 million neurons and is the primary site where ingested materials are broken down and absorbed, offering unique therapeutic opportunities. By modulating or restricting nutrient uptake in this region, we can help manage obesity and diabetes by controlling the body’s response to food intake. The SI’s pivotal role in digestion also makes it ideal for localized therapies like gut-restricted enzymes to address deficiencies where they matter most. Further, its vast surface area, rich blood supply and diverse transporters ensure efficient drug absorption into circulation, making it a prime target for systemic drug delivery. This versatility makes the SI a powerful hub for innovative local and systemic therapeutic strategies.

While the value of the SI has been extensively studied, targeting therapies to this region has historically proven challenging due to highly rapid and variable intestinal transit times that limit the therapeutic window of orally-delivered treatments.

Our scientific co-founders developed SYNT™ (SYNthetic Tissue-lining) to deliver and sustain therapies directly to targeted tissues within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

Leveraging our SYNT™ technology, we are unlocking the full potential of the SI by targeting and sustaining therapeutic activity in this critical region to create more effective solutions for difficult-to-treat diseases, all within the convenience of a simple pill.

SYNT™ Technology Platform

Deployment

Polymerization

Formation

The Power of SYNT™ Technology

Using mussel-inspired polymer chemistry, SYNT™ (SYNthetic Tissue-lining) establishes a robust, safe, transient polydopamine coating to precise locations in the GI tract for up to 24 hours, after which it is naturally cleared from the body.

The SYNT™ polymer lining is engineered to form in situ on catalase-rich tissues, and is first being applied to the duodenum, the upper region of the small intestine that is highly enriched for these endogenous enzymes. 

The potential of SYNT™ is evidenced-based, and has been highly validated in preclinical and clinical studies:

  • Nutrient absorption restriction and redirection: 70% glucose blocking
  • Tmax modulation: 10x higher oral drug half-life
  • Bioavailability increase: 4-10x increased small molecule and macromolecule absorption
  • Gut-restricted therapy improvements: 20x improved biologic activity

SYNT™ Platform

The SYNT platform is being deployed to advance multiple assets and therapeutic modalities.

The tissue lining when used as a monotherapy functions as a transient barrier in the duodenum, preventing nutrient absorption while redirecting it to the lower bowel, mimicking the effects of gastric bypass surgery.  This therapeutic, SYNT-101, is currently being evaluated in Phase 1/1b clinical trials (SYNTIETY-1) of in healthy subjects and obese patients.

SYNT may be paired with lead compounds, development candidates, or approved therapies through one of two strategic approaches:

  • For Local intestinal delivery, SYNT need only be combined with a specific drug or drug product. For these applications, SYNT is designed to amplify the activity of a therapeutic within the small intestine. Already, Syntis is applying this strategy to enhance the performance of its rare-disease portfolio, including proprietary enzymes intended to treat inborn errors of metabolism.
  • For systemic absorption SYNT is combined with a drug and a tailored pairing of permeation enhancersthat, in combination, facilitate trans-epithelial transport of the therapeutic across the intestinal barrier, enabling systemic exposure and improved oral bioavailability.

Across both strategies, the defining feature is prolonged residence of the therapeutic within the small intestine, enabling enhanced local activity and/or systemic absorption.

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