Pan-Biome Pharmaceuticals Inc announced Wednesday that its oral drug was effective at modulating gut microbiota in a study of inflammatory bowel disease.
The biopharmaceutical company, which is focused on chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, said that one of its drugs produced “strong effects” in controlling gut microbiota in mice in a study run by the Gut4Health Microbiome Core at BC’s Children’s Hospital Research Institute.
Vancouver-based Pan-Biome said that the compound caused a “distinct shift” in microbiota composition by increasing “good” bacteria, while suppressing bacteria associated with the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
The company also noted that its compound caused a significant increase in the species Akkermansia muciniphila, a bacterium shown to elicit a wide range of positive health benefits, including reduced obesity and systemic inflammation, and improved gut barrier function – a positive development that could lead to a dent in the estimated US$480 billion direct healthcare costs driven by chronic diseases like obesity.
Pan-Biome’s CEO Gordon Eberwein hailed the encouraging results as a step forward in treating obesity-related conditions.
“There is such an unmet need in this area,” Eberwein said in a statement. “Obesity and obesity-related conditions are at epidemic levels in many parts of the world, so it is exciting to have our drug elicit such a positive change to the gut microbiome.”
CSO Poul Sorensen called the news “extremely exciting.”
“Pharmacological modulation of the microbiome is of great interest to the biomedical community, given the emerging critical role of the gut microbiome in maintaining intestinal and systemic health,” Sorensen added.
Pan-Biome is working with a contract research organization to begin the Clinical Trial Application process as it looks to move an oral drug towards human trials.
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