Takeda Pharmaceutical, a Japanese biopharmaceutical company, announced a strategic new collaboration with NuBiyota to develop Microbial Ecosystem Therapeutics, a new form of treatment for patients with gastroenterology disorders who fail to respond to available treatments.
The partnership will foster the development of oral microbial products using NuBiyota’s gut microbiome platform.
The human gut microbiome consists of the 10 trillion to 100 trillion microbes, primarily bacteria that reside in our gut. Scientists are conducting several studies investigating the role of the gut microbiome in our health. Until now, studies have shown that the microbes naturally residing in our gut can modulate how we respond to ailments. The increasing amount of data supports the crucial role of gut microbiome to our health and well-being.
As part of the partnership, NuBiyota will receive an upfront payment and has the rights for success-based development, regulatory and commercial achievements, and tiered royalties according to net sales.
“We are excited to partner with NuBiyota as this collaboration reinforces Takeda’s long-term commitment to unmet medical need in gastroenterology and adds to our other microbiome-related partnerships,” Asit Parikh, MD, PhD, Takeda’s gastroenterology therapeutic area unit head, said in a press release.
“Through these partnerships, we are exploring both microbial consortia and microbiome derived bioactives to investigate how the microbiome can be harnessed for treatment of gastroenterology diseases,” Parikh added.
NuBiyota’s microbial therapeutic platform offers a starting point to evaluate, in clinical settings, how microbiome-based therapeutics may improve the condition of patients with gastroenterology disorders, such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). It also will allow researchers to enhance their understanding of the role of microbiome in these conditions.
Takeda has a long-term commitment to gastroenterology research, counting more than 25 years of expertise in this field. The impact of Takeda’s research dates back to the 1990s with the company developing landmark therapeutics for gastroenterological disorders, the proton pump inhibitors. Since then, Takeda expanded its market to specialty care markets in gastroenterology and biologics, focusing on both forms of IBDs: ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Through collaborations, in-licensing and acquisitions, and in-house developments, Takeda is currently developing a number of therapies targeting the early stages of gastroenterology disorders.