Partnerships and collaborations are fundamental to our goal of advancing live biotherapeutic products (LBPs). We work with global pharma partners as well as academic and healthcare centres of excellence, to build on our understanding of the medical science of the microbiome and advance how our bacteria are manufactured at scale.
Microbiotica is open to pursuing strategic partnerships to maximise the power and potential of its innovative microbiome platform to identify clinically relevant microbiome signatures and develop precision microbiome therapies.
Our partnerships
Clinical development collaboration
MSD (Merck & Co., Inc)
Microbiotica has a clinical trial supply collaboration with MSD (Merck & Co., Inc).
Microbiotica is the study sponsor and responsible for conducting a Phase 1b clinical trial to evaluate the safety and tolerability, and initial signs of clinical activity of MB097, its live biotherapeutic product, in combination with KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), MSD’s anti-PD-1 therapy, in melanoma patients with primary resistance to an anti-PD-1-containing immunotherapy.
Microbiotica has commercial rights to MB097, MSD is supplying KEYTRUDA®.
(KEYTRUDA® is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.)
Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation
Microbiotica is collaborating with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation for the development of MB310, its Live Biotherapeutic Product, for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). The collaboration has supported the cGMP manufacture of MB310, enabling an Investigational New Drug (IND) application and supporting progression into a first-in-human clinical. In addition, Microbiotica is leveraging the Foundation’s expertise and network within the ulcerative colitis disease area.
Discovery research collaborations
Cancer Research UK and Cambridge University Hospitals
Microbiotica is collaborating with Cancer Research UK and Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) to identify and develop microbiome co-therapies and biomarkers for cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors. The collaboration is based on clinical studies conducted by CUH that evaluate immune checkpoint inhibitor drug response in cancer patients, combined with Microbiotica’s unrivalled microbiome profiling and analysis capability.
Clinical studies include:
- MELRESIST, a completed class-leading melanoma study, that contributed towards the discovery of our live defined bacterial product, MB097.
- MITRE (Microbiome Immunotherapy Response Evaluation), an ongoing major landmark study in melanoma, lung, and renal cancer, involving 1,800 patients, specifically designed for evaluation of microbiome and other biomarker effects. This work will form the basis of our additional immuno-oncology development programmes.
University of Adelaide
Microbiotica entered into an agreement with University of Adelaide as part of its programme to develop a defined live bacterial product for ulcerative colitis.
Microbiotica collaborated with Dr Sam Costello, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide and Department of Gastroenterology at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Using clinical data from Dr Costello’s UC studies, Microbiotica discovered MB310, a live bacteria product and new therapeutic candidate to treat ulcerative colitis.
Previous collaboration
Genentech
In 2018 Microbiotica formed a strategic collaboration with Genentech to identify new microbiome-based biomarkers for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Microbiotica used its discovery platform, combining leading metagenomics, mass culturing, and machine learning to analyse patient samples from Genentech’s IBD investigational medicines clinical trials. Microbiotica delivered successfully microbial biomarker signatures of drug response.
