Danish multinational pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk, leads the international, public-private research consortium 'SOPHIA' (Stratification of Obese Phenotypes to Optimize Future Obesity Therapy), which was launched yesterday with the aim of improving risk assessment of comorbidities and treatment for people with obesity, it was reported on Tuesday.

Twenty-nine leading international partners from civil society, academia and industry have joined forces to better understand obesity and optimise future treatment.

Obesity is a global pandemic currently affecting around 150 million people in Europe and 650 million people worldwide. Obesity complications are common, but we cannot yet predict who will develop any of the 200 known complications of obesity. Moreover, there are insufficient predictors for who will respond to obesity treatments. SOPHIA will identify, characterise and stratify clinically meaningful subpopulations of patients living with obesity to match the right treatment for the right person at the right time.

SOPHIA will provide evidence-based classification of predictors for obesity complications and response to obesity treatment while also identifying and charting models for sustainably developing treatment pathways that will be valuable for patients, healthcare systems, researchers and clinicians. Some of the methods used in SOPHIA will be: Creating a database, Conducting analysis, Conducting in-depth qualitative methods with patients to identify their perceptions and perspectives on obesity diagnosis and treatment and Finding a shared value with all stakeholders to ensure better treatment of people living with obesity.

SOPHIA project leader Dr Marianne Olholm Larsen Gronning of Novo Nordisk, says: 'Obesity is a complex, chronic disease and there is still a lot we do not know, both about the biology of the disease itself and how treatment can improve the lives of patients with obesity. SOPHIA is an important step towards understanding obesity better. The collaboration between excellent contributors from academia, industry and associations holds a big promise that we can deliver strong and unique results.'