LYON, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MaaT Pharma, a clinical-stage microbiome therapy company, and SATT Lutech, a private technology transfer company holding the exclusive rights to the scientific findings from research groups at Sorbonne University, APHP, CNRS and INSERM, today announced a licensing agreement under which MaaT Pharma will receive world-wide exclusive rights for the therapeutic application of allogeneic Fecal Microbiome Transplants (FMT) to treat acute Graft-vs-Host Disease (GvHD) in patients following stem cell transplantation. The technology is based on research performed within the Clinical Hematology Department at Saint-Antoine Hospital and Sorbonne University, Paris, France. The license builds the foundation for MaaT Pharma’s MaaT013 program for which the company recently received authorization from the French regulatory authorities to launch a multicenter Phase 2 study in acute GvHD. GvHD is a major complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in which the donor’s immune effector cells attack the recipient’s tissue, causing inflammation, severe damage and often death.
“A high diversity in microbiome species has been associated with increased survival in GvHD after stem cell transplantation and we believe that we have found a way to leverage this finding for the benefit of patients,” said Prof. Mohty, head of the Clinical Hematology Department at Saint-Antoine Hospital and Sorbonne University, in Paris, and past-president of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT). “With its extensive experience in providing reproducible and stable drug products, MaaT Pharma can advance this highly promising drug candidate that has been developed to deliver an enriched and diverse microbiome transplant. It is exciting to support the company in its vision to change medical practice by leveraging the potential of microbiome drugs.”
“The license agreement complements our existing patent estate covering our technology platform and next-generation FMT drugs, developed together with our medical and scientific co-founders Prof. Mohty and Dr. Joel Doré, Research Director at INRA,” said Hervé Affagard, CEO and co-founder of MaaT Pharma. “Our goal is to provide microbiome-based solutions for severe and life-threatening diseases, with an initial focus on blood cancer related-disorders. The GvHD program, for which we are on track to treat the first patient in a Phase 2 study in the near future, underscores the efforts of the entire MaaT Pharma team.”
MaaT Pharma has developed a unique cGMP platform for next generation FMTs that are based on allogeneic donor material and tailored to disease treatment needs through a thorough analytical screening and reproducible production process. In parallel, the company is developing FMT drugs to prolong survival in acute myeloid leukemia patients by reintroducing a functional microbiome after chemotherapy. A Phase 1/2 study launched in 2016 is being concluded and results to establish proof-of-concept are expected over this summer.
About MaaT Pharma
Founded at the end of 2014, MaaT Pharma
(Microbiota as a Therapy) is a clinical-stage biotech company
revolutionizing and shaping a new approach to therapies in order to
treat serious diseases linked to gut microbiota imbalances. With its
breakthrough proprietary platforms (GMP Fecal Microbiome Transfer
platform and gΛt Print, its proprietary data science platform), MaaT
Pharma is creating FMT-based products and solutions for patients
suffering from severe diseases. Addressing currently unmet clinical
needs, MaaT Pharma’s revolutionary and rapid approach plays a
considerable part in the evolution of treatment therapies. In the
upcoming years, with the on-going support from strategic partners and
investors, MaaT Pharma will develop patient-friendly solutions (oral
forms) to improve overall survival, reduce infectious episodes, reduce
gastrointestinal complications and hinder multidrug-resistant bacteria
onset.
For additional information, please visit www.maatpharma.com and follow us on Twitter @MaaT_Pharma.
About SATT Lutech
SATT Lutech is a private technology
transfer company with exclusive rights to source, protect, develop and
commercialize scientific findings and technologies stemming from the
research laboratories of its partners and shareholders (Sorbonne
Université, CNRS, Université de Technologie de Compiègne, Muséum
National d’Histoire Naturelle, Institut Curie, Université
Panth”on-Assas, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle).
Lutech aims at facilitating the transfer of early stage innovations with a real potential to improve life quality, transform industries, and create tremendous social & economic value, from the lab to successful products and services, by investing in the development of convincing proofs of concept and prototypes.
Lutech is partnering with operating companies and investors, at any development stage, through co-development programs, licensing or startup creation.
