On January 15, 2020 Bloom Science, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of precision living medicines for currently untreatable neurological diseases, reported signing of an agreement with Duke University, granting the Company an option to an exclusive license to intellectual property and technology related to unique strain isolates and libraries of genetic variants of Akkermansia genus bacteria developed in the laboratory of Raphael H. Valdivia, Ph.D (Press release, Bloom Science, JAN 15, 2020, View Source [SID1234556211]). The underlying principle of Dr. Valdivia’s approach is to isolate, characterize and genetically alter Akkermansia to understand how this beneficial microbe’s genes contribute to promoting immunological health. Bloom will leverage the technology to develop heirloom strain Akkermansia therapeutics, genetically optimized strains and discover novel chemical composition of the Akkermansia metabolome.
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"Multiple reported animal studies have demonstrated the high therapeutic potential of Akkermansia muciniphila in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, immune oncology, progeroid syndrome and metabolic diseases," said Christopher Reyes, PhD, CEO of Bloom Science. "Dr. Valdivia and his team’s extensive research will be foundational to our therapeutic development platform and furthers our strategy of investing in and expanding our multi-faceted approach to leveraging the gut-brain axis to discover and develop breakthrough therapies for the largest number of patients."
"We are very excited for the opportunity to generate Akkermansia strains with the most beneficial activities and accelerate their application as potential therapeutics, " said Dr. Valdivia, who will be joining Bloom as a scientific founder.
The financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.