LNC Therapeutics announced on 10/15/18 that it has signed an exclusive license agreement with Cornell University (Ithaca, NY, USA) for its Christensenella patent family.

Christensenella is a recently discovered family of gut bacteria. Considered a keystone taxon in the human gut microbiome, it represents a major opportunity in the fight against obesity, metabolic disorders and other high-impact diseases. Christensenella and microbiome modulation is an innovative approach with the potential to unlock a wide range of therapeutic applications.

By securing a license for the Christensenella patent, LNC has bolstered its strategy for developing innovative therapeutic approaches based on this new family of bacteria.

“Expanding our intellectual property is essential in order for us to successfully pursue our vision and our development strategy,” said Dr. Georges Rawadi, CEO of LNC.“Securing a license for the Christensenella patent has reinforced our existing intellectual property portfolio.It’s a key step in establishing our leadership position for the Christensenella family and anticipating its future therapeutic applications.”Symflor, who previously licensed the Christensenlla patent, has assisted LNC in this transaction.

LNC aims to use this license to develop the first Christensenella-based drug candidate for the treatment of obesity and metabolic disorders. In parallel, LNC will leverage its research platform dedicated to studying this family of bacteria in order to gain deeper insight into how it operates and understand how it interacts with host cells. “We strongly believe that Christensenella has a wide therapeutic potential that goes beyond obesity and metabolic disorders. We are therefore considering the possibility of broadening our fields of application,” Dr. Rawadi added.