The results demonstrate the efficacy of Biomica's
live bacterial consortia, BMC426 and BMC427, for the treatment of
IBS
REHOVOT, Israel, July 19,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Biomica Ltd., a
clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative
microbiome-based therapeutics and a subsidiary of Evogene
Ltd. (Nasdaq: EVGN) (TASE: EVGN), reported today interim
positive results from pre-clinical studies in its IBS program. The
pre-clinical work was performed in collaboration with the lab of
Prof. Kara Gross Margolis, Associate
Director for Clinical and Translational Research for the
New York University Pain Research
Center and an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular
Pathobiology in the NYU College of Dentistry and the Department of
Pediatrics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. In these studies,
Biomica tested two candidate therapeutic consortia of live
bacterial strains, BMC426 and BMC427. Treatment with these drug
candidates effectively reduced visceral pain, a major symptom of
IBS.
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Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, is a chronic digestive system
disorder estimated to affect 4.1% of the worldwide
population[1]. IBS-affected individuals suffer from
abdominal pain, bloating, and abnormal bowel movements; that often
affect their daily functioning and quality of life. Current
standard therapies for IBS are limited, particularly in relation to
IBS-associated abdominal pain. Studies have pointed to associations
between alterations in the gut microbiome and IBS, suggesting
microbiome involvement in developing IBS
symptoms[2].
BMC426 and BMC427 were designed based on their functional
capabilities, utilizing data collected from IBS patients through
research conducted at the University of North
Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill by
Prof. Yehuda Ringel, Co-Founder and
Chief Scientific Officer of Biomica. The data was analyzed in
silico using Biomica's PRISM system, a proprietary computational
platform powered by Evogene's MicroBoost AI tech-engine.
Numerous functional capabilities of BMC426 and BMC427 have
been successfully validated in relevant
in-vitro models.
Today, Biomica is announcing positive results observed in its
in-vivo pre-clinical work, which aimed to evaluate the
potential of BMC426 and BMC427 in treating IBS. The results
revealed that animals treated with either BMC426 or BMC427
displayed significantly lower levels of visceral sensitivity
compared to the placebo-treated group. The study design and initial
results will be presented in an oral presentation at the
NeuroGASTRO conference of the European Society of
Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESNM) in September 2023.
These results lay the foundation for Biomica's advancement of
its IBS therapeutics development program. In the coming year,
Biomica plans to explore additional parameters related to pain
reduction and the alleviation of other IBS symptoms, building upon
these promising pre-clinical findings.
Prof. Kara Gross Margolis
said: "The results of this study are incredibly exciting as they
are the first to show that BMC426 or BMC427 may be helpful in the
treatment of visceral pain in IBS and other gastrointestinal
disorders, that are highly common with few effective
therapies."
"We express our sincere gratitude to Prof. Kara Gross Margolis and her team at NYU, as their involvement has been instrumental in
the promising results achieved in these in-vivo pre-clinical
studies," said Prof. Yehuda
Ringel. "By leveraging our innovative computational
approach, which harnesses big data and high-resolution microbiome
analysis to identify the optimal microbes for our product, we are
poised to introduce a promising, microbiome-targeted therapy for
this chronic and debilitating condition. We eagerly look forward to
sharing further updates on the progress of this program as we
continue our journey forward."
[1]
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32294476/
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6039952/
About Biomica's IBS therapeutic candidates: BMC426 and
BMC427
BMC426 and BMC427, which are Live Bacterial Products (LBPs), are
rationally designed consortia designed to restore specific
functionality to a microbial community with individually selected,
cultured bacteria. BMC426 and BMC427 are comprised of bacterial
strains selected for their multiple desired functions to achieve
maximal functional activity with only 4 or 5 bacterial strains,
respectively. These LBP's are aimed to result in robust metabolic
and immune modulation, and affect IBS through several underlying
and complementary modes of action.
About PRISM:
PRISM enables high-resolution microbiome computational analysis
with specific emphasis on the functional aspects of the microbiome,
host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions, supporting a
mechanistic approach to strains selection and providing the basis
for Biomica's rational design of therapeutic live bacterial
consortia.
About Biomica Ltd.:
Biomica is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing
innovative microbiome-based therapeutics utilizing PRISM system, a
proprietary computational platform powered by Evogene's
MicroBoost AI tech-engine. licensed from Evogene. Biomica
aims to identify and characterize disease-related microbiome
entities and to develop novel therapeutics based on these
understandings. The company is focused on the development of
therapies for antibiotic resistant bacteria, immuno-oncology, and
microbiome-related gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. Biomica is a
subsidiary of Evogene Ltd. (Nasdaq: EVGN, TASE: EVGN).
For more information, please visit www.biomicamed.com.
About Evogene Ltd.:
Evogene (Nasdaq: EVGN, TASE: EVGN) is a computational biology
company aiming to revolutionize the development of
life-science-based products by utilizing cutting-edge technologies
to increase the probability of success while reducing development
time and cost. Evogene established three unique tech-engines -
MicroBoost AI, ChemPass AI, and GeneRator AI –
leveraging Big Data and Artificial Intelligence and incorporating
deep multidisciplinary understanding in life sciences. Each
tech-engine is focused on the discovery and development of products
based on one of the following core components: microbes
(MicroBoost AI), small molecules (ChemPass AI), and
genetic elements (GeneRator AI).
Evogene uses its tech-engines to develop products through
subsidiaries and strategic partnerships. Evogene's subsidiaries
currently utilize the tech-engines to develop human
microbiome-based therapeutics by Biomica, ag-biologicals by
Lavie Bio, ag-chemicals by AgPlenus,
medical cannabis products by Canonic and castor varieties, for the
biofuel and other industries, by Casterra.
For more information, please visit www.evogene.com.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains "forward-looking statements"
relating to future events. These statements may be identified by
words such as "will", "may", "could", "expects", "intends",
"anticipates", "plans", "believes", "scheduled", "estimates",
"demonstrates", or words of similar meaning. For example, Evogene
and Biomica are using forward-looking statements in this press
release when they discuss Biomica's products potential to bring a
new form of therapy for chronic and devastating condition, the drug
candidates' ability to reduce visceral pain in IBS and other
gastrointestinal disorders, and the progress of the pre-clinical
trials. Such statements are based on current expectations,
estimates, projections and assumptions, describe opinions about
future events, and involve certain risks and uncertainties which
are difficult to predict and are not guarantees of future
performance. Therefore, actual future results, performance or
achievements of Evogene and its subsidiaries may differ materially
from what is expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond
the control of Evogene and its subsidiaries, including, without
limitation, those risk factors contained in Evogene's reports filed
with applicable securities authorities. Evogene and its
subsidiaries disclaim any obligation or commitment to update these
forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments
or changes in expectations, estimates, projections, and
assumptions.
Contacts
Rachel Pomerantz
Gerber
Head of Investor Relations at Evogene
rachel.pomerantz@evogene.com
Tel: +972-8-9311901
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SOURCE Biomica Ltd.