NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Enterome Bioscience today announced a collaboration with drug developer AbbVie to create molecular diagnostic tools to monitor the gut microbiome in patients with Crohn's disease and other microbiome-related diseases.
The firms will first collaborate on non-invasive microbiome monitoring tools built with Enterome's proprietary metagenomic biomarker portfolio and technologies, which the aim of improving treatment decisions in managing Crohn's disease.
Diagnostic tools developed under the agreement could eventually support personalized therapies and the development of new drugs in microbiome-related diseases, Enterome said in a statement.
The cause of Crohn's disease remains unknown but intestinal inflammation may arise or be propagated by abnormal host-bacteria interactions, indicating that the gut microbiome may have a critical role in disease pathogenesis.
"This development partnership, along with the others that we have signed in recent months, demonstrates a strong and growing interest from a broad range of healthcare companies in our microbiome-based approach to disease monitoring and management," Pierre Belichard, CEO of Enterome, said.
In June, Enterome announced partnerships with the Mayo Clinic and Synthetic Biologics to develop microbiome-based tests.
Financial and other arrangements of the deal were not disclosed.
Paris, France-based Enterome develops drugs and diagnostics to support personalized therapies in microbiome-related diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, metabolic diseases, and related disorders.