These Venture Capitalists Bet on a Miracle Fat Pill and Lost

  • Harvard-discovered weight-loss hormone disputed by scientists
  • Venture capitalist firm Third Rock pulls plug on biotech
Photograph: Getty Images
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Imagine a pill that mimics the effects of vigorous exercise on the body.

Three years ago, Bruce Spiegelman, a prominent Harvard scientist, said he had discovered an “exercise hormone” that promised to unlock a new way to treat obesity and diabetes.