Clinical trial setbacks and financial challenges have led Finch Therapeutics to stop a Phase 3 study for its lead microbiome program, a potential treatment for recurrent C. diff infection. As Finch seeks buyers for its remaining assets, the biotech is laying off most of its staff in a corporate restructuring.
The agreement termination means that two preclinical microbiome therapy candidates for inflammatory bowel disease will now return to Finch Therapeutics. The biotech company had been collaborating with Takeda Pharmaceutical since 2017.
Artera President Tom McIntyre talks about the practical application of AI in healthcare.
Seres Therapeutics’ ambitions to treat ulcerative colitis with a microbiome drug were dealt a setback as its experimental therapy failed in Phase 2 testing. The company plans a “rigorous scientific analysis” to assess what happened and to determine the next steps for the program.
Founded in 2014, MaaT Pharma is pushing two therapies through clinical trials that are designed improve survival for patients with blood cancers and other diseases. Despite high-profile hiccups, the field of microbiome therapy remains attractive to investors.
The Connecticut company is developing microbiome therapeutics to treat skin conditions like eczema, rashes caused by cancer treatment and Netherton, a chronic, orphan disease.
“It was driven by the recognition that fundamentally the biological platform for both companies was a mirror image. We both independently uncovered the biology of the immune-microbiome.”
Zelis highlights how employers, payers, and consumers are integrating digital tools to manage healthcare costs.
Diabetes drug metformin may be as effective as it’s ubiquitous, but it’s known to throws the stomach’s balance out of whack. Half the patients experience diarrhea and a quarter vomiting, so patients often scale back on metformin – or stop using it entirely. Also, microbiome imbalances are consistently being linked now to obesity. Colorado startup MicroBiome Therapeutics is […]