Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

Persephone Biosciences, Janssen Biotech Ink Biomarker Discovery Agreement

NEW YORK — Microbiome research firm Persephone Biosciences said on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to use patient samples from a Janssen Biotech clinical trial for biomarker discovery.

Under the terms of the deal, Persephone will have access to stool samples obtained using its proprietary collection kit from patients participating in an undisclosed Janssen cancer clinical trial. Persephone will analyze the samples and have the exclusive right to license any biomarkers discovered.

Additional terms were not disclosed.

"We are excited for this collaboration as it will provide us with an opportunity not only to further our understanding of the microbiome's role in disease, but also to build upon the growing body of evidence highlighting the microbiome's role in influencing patient treatment outcomes," Persephone cofounder and CEO Stephanie Culler said in a statement.

San Diego-based Persephone is developing precision immunotherapeutics using microbiome and other medical data from stool and blood samples collected from healthy individuals and cancer patients. Its technology platform is based on population-scale, observational clinical trials in conjunction with advanced multiomics analyses and machine learning.

Earlier this year, the company launched a clinical study examining the impact of the gut microbiome on immune responses to COVID-19 vaccination.

Persephone's labs are housed within Johnson & Johnson Innovation. Janssen is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

The Scan

ChatGPT Does As Well As Humans Answering Genetics Questions, Study Finds

Researchers in the European Journal of Human Genetics had ChatGPT answer genetics-related questions, finding it was about 68 percent accurate, but sometimes gave different answers to the same question.

Sequencing Analysis Examines Gene Regulatory Networks of Honeybee Soldier, Forager Brains

Researchers in Nature Ecology & Evolution find gene regulatory network differences between soldiers and foragers, suggesting bees can take on either role.

Analysis of Ashkenazi Jewish Cohort Uncovers New Genetic Loci Linked to Alzheimer's Disease

The study in Alzheimer's & Dementia highlighted known genes, but also novel ones with biological ties to Alzheimer's disease.

Tara Pacific Expedition Project Team Finds High Diversity Within Coral Reef Microbiome

In papers appearing in Nature Communications and elsewhere, the team reports on findings from the two-year excursion examining coral reefs.