MRM Health receives €2.6 million grant for microbiome therapeutics
VLAIO research grant to drive development of novel therapeutics that redefine the treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases
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MRM Health announced that it has received a €2.6 million research grant from Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO). VLAIO is a government organization that aims to promote economic development in Flanders, Belgium. The three-year, non-dilutive grant will advance research into restoring the gut ecosystem and modifying diseases caused by a dysbiotic, pro-inflammatory microbiome. At the same time, the grant will help accelerate the development of MRM Health's therapeutics from preclinical to clinical proof-of-concept and availability to patients.
The program brings MRM Health together with leading academic partners, including Prof. Jeroen Raes (KU Leuven/VIB), Prof. Dr. Dirk Elewaut (UGent/VIB), Prof. Dr. Bram Verstockt (KU Leuven/IBD Leuven) and Prof. Dr. João Sabino (KU Leuven/IBD Leuven). The collaboration enables the use of unique clinical samples and data sets to gain new insights into microbiome-driven inflammatory processes and the bacterial ecosystems underlying disease.
By linking microbial ecology and host physiology, the project aims to identify and target disease-causing bacterial constellations. It also aims to contribute to a better understanding of how these ecosystems switch between health and disease. This knowledge will be used to advance the development of optimized microbial consortia that are able to reduce inflammation and at the same time correct microbial dysbiosis in order to ultimately generate preclinical LBP ("Live Biotherapeutic Products") candidates.
Dr. Katja Conrath, Chief Scientific Officer at MRM Health, said: "The support from VLAIO allows us to combine our proprietary CORAL® platform with the deep scientific and clinical expertise of our academic partners. This project will provide critical insights into disease-causing microbiome ecosystems and advance the development of targeted, risk-minimized LBPs for inflammatory diseases with high unmet need. We are very grateful for VLAIO's continued support, which will further strengthen our ability to advance this innovative program."
Prof. Jeroen Raes, Professor at KU Leuven and Deputy Director VIB Center for Microbiology, added: "The collaboration will allow us to link cutting-edge microbiome research with clinical data to gain a deeper understanding of how microbial ecosystems promote inflammatory processes and how they can be targeted for therapeutic modulation."
Prof. Dr. João Sabino, gastroenterologist at UZ Leuven and Principal Investigator at IBD Leuven, said: "Translating microbiome-mediated effects into insights into mechanistic pathways in patients represents a major advance for the field." Prof. Dr. Bram Verstockt, gastroenterologist at UZ Leuven and Principal Investigator at IBD Leuven, added: "Innovative, non-immunosuppressive therapeutic options emerging from this work are a significant and long-awaited advance for the IBD community."
The project offers great potential for the development of safe, orally available, microbiome-based therapies with disease-modifying effects. These therapies could serve as non-immunosuppressive base treatments for various inflammatory indications, contributing to long-term disease control and improved patient outcomes.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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