MRM Health, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing microbiome-based therapeutics for inflammatory diseases and immuno-oncology, has announced its collaboration with Professor Emile Voest, senior group leader at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) and senior investigator at Oncode Institute.
MRM hopes to accelerate the development of novel live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) to improve the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in cancer treatment, assisted by Voest’s established expertise in tumour microbiome research and translational oncology.
ICIs have transformative potential in cancer therapy, but immune-related adverse events (irAEs), heightened toxicity in combinations, primary or acquired resistance and serious side effects can limit their use. Scientific evidence now suggests that ICI efficacy, safety and combination potential could be enhanced through targeted modulation of the gut microbiome. Certain microbiome compositions are associated with more favourable outcomes, while microbiome imbalances caused by antibiotics and other therapies are associated with reduced survival.
MRM hopes to use its proprietary CORAL platform for the development of bacterial consortia that can restore the dysbiotic microbiome and modulate immune and metabolic pathways linked with ICI response. Voest’s insights in this area will allow MRM to accelerate design and production.
Voest said: “Our research has demonstrated the critical role of the gut microbiome and its metabolites in shaping responses to immunotherapy. By partnering with MRM Health, our insights can be turned into innovative therapeutic strategies aimed at overcoming resistance and unlocking the full potential of ICI treatments.”
Sam Possemiers, CEO of MRM, added: “By combining our rational microbiome design platform with Professor Voest and his team at the NKI, we aim to accelerate the creation of next-generation therapies that increase response rates to immune checkpoint inhibitors, meaningfully improving patient outcomes across multiple cancer types.”
