Enterome's Entrée

Since Enterome Bioscience S.A. spun out from the French National Institute for Agriculture Research (INRA) four years ago as a microbiome-based company focused on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), it has operated largely from the physical grounds of its academic parent with whom it has retained a strong alliance. Now, the company is ready to cut the apron strings, and has announced two pharma deals it believes will show the industry it is a serious player in drug development.

On Jan. 6 and 7, Enterome announced agreements with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4502) and the Janssen Biotech Inc. subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), respectively, that represent new opportunities to commercialize products from its platform. The company's technology identifies subgroups of bacteria that differ between the microbiomes of healthy and diseased individuals and creates therapeutics that target the pathogenicity of the key organisms. Its lead compound, EB-8018, is slated to enter the clinic for Crohn's disease this year...