French microbiome biotech Enterome has got off a €32 million ($38.5 million) series D round with the help of some big-name players.
The Paris company is at work on microbiome-associated diseases with a focus on inflammatory bowel diseases and immuno-oncology, and gets the cash boost from old backers: Seventure, Health for Life Capital, Lundbeckfonden Ventures, Omnes Capital and Nestlé Health Science, and from new, in the form of Principia SGR and strategic investor Bristol-Myers Squibb. It’s also got its hands on a €40 million ($48 million) loan facility from the European Investment Bank.
The cash boosts will be used toward two proof-of-concept clinical trials: a phase 2 study of its oral FimH blocker EB8018 in Crohn’s disease, and a phase 1b study of EO2315, its immuno-oncology candidate, in patients with an aggressive type of brain cancer (glioblastoma multiforme).
In addition, Enterome says it “will pursue the development of the next generation of its proprietary metagenomics drug discovery platform, reinforcing its leadership in the discovery and development of new therapeutic leads and targets for microbiome-associated diseases and expanding the reach of its technology platforms.”
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Enterome CEO Pierre Bélichard, Ph.D., said in a release that “We are very pleased to receive the funding and support from this group of current and new investors, who have recognized the potential, versatility, and uniqueness of our microbiome-derived drug discovery platform.
“Enterome, which is at the forefront of this approach, is already developing two exciting programs based on this knowledge and this financing will allow us to progress these programs through the major inflection points of clinical proof of concept, and to expand our clinical work to additional inflammatory bowel diseases and oncology indications.”
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Paul Biondi, senior vice president and head of business development at Bristol-Myers Squibb, added: “Enterome’s innovative research in the gut microbiome and its role in the immune system across cancer and inflammatory bowel diseases offers a tremendous opportunity to discover differentiated therapies to help patients.”