Paris' Enterome Biosciences has signed a deal with the Mayo Clinic to collaborate on tests that look to the microbiome to predict patient response to obesity treatment.
Under the agreement, the partners will discover, develop and commercialize personalized tests designed to guide nutritional and medicinal interventions for patients with obesity. Their work will build upon the industry's growing understanding of the microbiome, an ecosystem made up of more than 100 trillion microorganisms living in the gut, that, thanks to the explosive growth of genomics, has fueled a fast-expanding new field as scientists begin to chart just how it affects human health.
Enterome scientific founder Dusko Ehrlich is among a team of researchers that identified a panel of new microbiomic biomarkers the company says can determine the metabolic profiles of obese patients. Those discoveries will fuel Enterome's work with Mayo, lighting the path to the development of a diagnostic.
"The signing of this agreement with Mayo Clinic is another key corporate milestone for Enterome, and I am very pleased Mayo Clinic will work with us on such an important project," CEO Pierre Belichard said in a statement. "It is clear that new personalized medicine/nutrition solutions are needed if we are going to properly address the growing problem of obesity and its negative impact on public health."
Last month, Enterome raised $11.5 million in Series B cash, money that will support its work on biomarkers companion diagnostics for inflammatory bowel and metabolic disorders. The company has plans to eventually develop therapeutics of its own. Investors include Seventure Partners, Lundbeckfond Ventures and Shire ($SHPG).
- read the statement