Therapy to healthy microbiome

Isabel Huber

Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV), Tarragona, Spain

Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic disorder characterised by periods of relapse and remission. Although the exact cause is still unknown, it has been shown that sufferers have an imbalance in their intestinal microbial community that alters the levels of various metabolites, including succinate, which several studies have pinpointed as a promoter of intestinal inflammation and fibrosis.

In previous studies in mice, team members have shown that reducing intestinal succinate levels with a succinate-consuming bacterium improves intestinal inflammation. They have designed a series of molecules capable of consuming succinate, identified the most promising one and are now optimising it. The goal is to eventually develop an oral treatment that returns succinate to healthy levels, which would reduce intestinal inflammation, prevent fibrosis and decrease systemic inflammation.

In this stage, the project aims to advance the preclinical development of the treatment by optimising and enhancing its efficacy, improving its production, conducting initial formulation studies, characterising its efficacy in vivo and conducting toxicological and safety tests.

Novel gut-restricted first-in-class therapy for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Stage 2