Microbiome Report for week ending 3/30/19

Enterome to Present Data on its Microbiome-Derived Molecular Mimicry Approach to Cancer Immunotherapy
Enterome SA  announced on 3/27/19 that it will present data on its innovative microbiome-based approach for the development of therapeutic peptide cancer vaccines for the first time in a poster at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2019 in Atlanta, GA, USA (March 29 to April 3).

Enterome’s innovative approach is based on the concept of “molecular mimicry” whereby microbiome-derived bacterial antigens show molecular similarity with Tumor-associated Antigens (TAAs) and Tumor-specific Neoantigens (TSNAs). Based on this similarity, bacterial antigens (“onco-mimics”) mimic key tumor antigens that are highly expressed by tumors to trigger tumor-specific cytotoxic T cell immune responses.

Enterome has developed a proprietary discovery platform to identify such bacterial onco-mimics from the human gut microbiome. The data to be presented at AACR 2019 demonstrate that onco-mimics identified by Enterome elicited strong immune responses against self-peptides that were, by themselves, not immunogenic. While mice vaccinated with TAAs did not generate an immune response, vaccination with onco-mimics were observed to result in a strong immune response against both bacterial peptides and selected TAAs. Furthermore, adoptive transfer of T cells from mice immunized with onco-mimics into tumor-engrafted nude mice led to tumor control in the presence of checkpoint inhibitors.

Enterome’s first product candidate developed using its molecular mimicry approach, EO2401, comprises three onco-mimics that are highly homologous to solid tumor antigens. Enterome expects to initiate a Phase 1b/2a clinical trial of EO2401 in 2019 as a potential new immunotherapy for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), for which no curative treatments exist.


LNC Therapeutics announces the grant of the first worldwide patent relating to the therapeutic applications of christensenella bacteria
LNC Therapeutics, a French biotech company specializing in gut microbiome-based drug discovery, announced on 3/26/19 the grant of the Cornell University (Ithaca, New-York, USA) patent relating to christensenella bacteria.

This patent granted by the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office), and covering the therapeutic applications of this group of bacteria, is the first of its kind worldwide.

It follows LNC Therapeutics’ acquisition from Cornell University in October 2018 of the exclusive licence relating to its christensenella patent family. Therefore, LNC Therapeutics holds the exclusive and worldwide exploitation, manufacturing and marketing rights on therapeutic products based on its own bacterial strains, for the treatment of obesity, metabolic diseases and other serious indications with significant unmet medical needs.

The Christensenella genus, a keystone microorganism of the gut microbiota identified in 2012, have been highlighted for their beneficial effects on human health by numerous academic teams in universities worldwide.

Christensenella showed a strong potential for the treatment of obesity, metabolic diseases and inflammatory bowel diseases. More recently, it was isolated from the microbiome of long-lived individuals.

LNC Therapeutics is currently conducting its own research on christensenella to explore their therapeutic potential in serious diseases with significant unmet medical needs. The company intends to develop a new class of drugs, called Live Biotherapeutic Products or LBPs, capable of treating the microbiome to restore defective functions.

LNC Therapeutics is conducting two research programmes based on the properties of the Christensenella genus:

LNC01, which uses the properties of the bacteria Christensenella minuta for the treatment of obesity and metabolic diseases. This programme examines LNC Therapeutics’ various proprietary strains to select a bacteria candidate to be used in a future clinical trial.
LNC02, which is an exploratory research programme designed to identify new therapeutic applications for christensenella, beyond obesity and metabolic diseases.