Date: 2016-04-18
Type of information: Licensing agreement
Compound: novel small molecule FimH antagonists including EB 8018
Company: Enterome Bioscience (France) Vertex Pharmaceuticals (USA-MA)
Therapeutic area: Digestive diseases - Gastrointestinal diseases - Inflammatory diseases
Type agreement: R&D licensing commercialisation
Action mechanism: FimH antagonist.
Disease: inflammatory bowel disease
Details: * On April,18th 2016, Enterome Bioscience announced that the company has signed an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Vertex Pharmaceuticals to research, develop and commercialize novel small molecule FimH antagonists for use in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. Enterome plans to take the lead compound in this program, known as EB 8018, into first human clinical trials during 2016 as well as a companion diagnostic to identify patients with inflammatory bowel diseases who will benefit from their use.
Through application of its metagenomics platform, Enterome has identified a key bacterial species – adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) – which is responsible for triggering inflammation in inflammatory bowel diseases.
AIEC adheres to gut epithelial cells by virtue of FimH adhesion proteins on its cell surface, which bind to the CEACAM6 receptor on gut epithelial cells and allow the bacterial cells to invade the gut wall and proliferate. Research has shown that blocking FimH prevents the adherence and proliferation of AIEC, thereby reducing inflammation and providing new opportunities for the prevention and treatment of IBD.
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