Enterome Enters Research Collaboration With Major Cancer Center Focused on New Microbiome-derived Immunotherapies

Collaboration aims to evaluate the potential of microbiome-derived antigens that mimic tumor antigens and neoantigens ("onco-mimics") to induce anti-tumor immune responses

PARIS and CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Nov. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ENTEROME SA, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging its unique knowledge of the key functional and molecular interactions between the gut microbiome and the human body to develop targeted therapeutics, has entered into a research collaboration with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in New York City to evaluate the potential of gut microbiome-derived antigens for development as cancer immunotherapies.

Enterome is pioneering an innovative approach to cancer immunotherapy based on the concept of "molecular mimicry", whereby microbiome-derived bacterial antigens that show molecular similarity with Tumor-associated Antigens (TAAs) and Tumor-specific Neoantigens (TSNAs) are used to trigger tumor-specific cytotoxic T cell immune responses. The Company refers to these bacterial antigens as "onco-mimics."

Enterome has developed its proprietary Onco-Mimics discovery platform to identify such antigens from the human gut microbiome and has advanced EO2401 as its first clinical candidate. EO2401 comprises several microbiome-derived antigens that mimic those that are selectively over-expressed by a number of solid tumors. The Company aims to develop EO2401 as a potential new immunotherapy for several indications, with an initial focus on recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a devastating cancer for which no curative treatments exist. The first clinical trial is targeted to start by the end of 2019.

This new research collaboration aims to generate further evidence to support Enterome's Onco-Mimics immunotherapy platform and will look at validating its application in several tumor types including melanoma, lung and pancreatic. Enterome will bring its ability to identify potential TAAs and TSNAs as well as to generate onco-mimics derived from the microbiome for the selected TAAs and TSNAs and will work with leading cancer experts within the Ludwig Center for Cancer Immunotherapy and the David M. Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research, both at MSK.

"We are excited to initiate this new collaboration with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which following the start of our collaboration with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute earlier this year, means we are now working closely with experts at two of the world's leading cancer research centers to further the understanding of our immunotherapy approach and validate our unique Onco-Mimics discovery platform," said Christophe Bonny, CSO of Enterome. "We believe that this cutting-edge research will provide a solid scientific foundation that will enable us to further develop our pipeline of new immunotherapy candidates for multiple cancer indications."

Taha Merghoub PhD Biologist at MSK commented, "The microbiome concept presents an exciting new approach to the development of cancer immunotherapies and our understanding of how the microbiome works keeps improving with emerging data highlighting the important link between the microbiome and the effectiveness of immunotherapies."

About Enterome

Enterome is a clinical-stage company pioneering the development of novel pharmaceuticals based on its leading knowledge of the interaction between the immune system and the gut microbiome.

Enterome is advancing a pipeline of small molecule and peptide candidates to treat microbiome-associated diseases with a focus on auto-immune disease and cancer: these include EB8018, a selective FimH blocker, in a Phase 1b clinical trial for Crohn's disease (partnered with Takeda); and EO2401, an innovative microbiome antigen-based therapeutic ("onco-mimic"), which is expected to enter clinical trial in patients with glioblastoma in 2019.

The Company's strategic drug discovery is driven by its proprietary drug discovery platforms enabling the identification of new targets and therapeutic candidates derived from the microbiome. The Company's approach is based on a "drugs from bugs" approach and is expected to facilitate the use of recognized development and regulatory pathways for its candidates.

Enterome's industry partners include Takeda and Bristol-Myers Squibb and its academic partners are Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

The Company is backed by venture capital investors (Seventure Partners, Lundbeckfonden Ventures, Health for Life Capital, Omnes Capital and Principia) and strategic investors (BMS, Nestlé Health Science, Shire and INRA Transfert).

Additional information about Enterome is available at: www.enterome.com.

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