Kaleido Biosciences, a clinical-stage healthcare company, has initiated a research collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceuticals’ World Without Disease Accelerator. The collaboration will explore the potential for Kaleido’s Microbiome Metabolic Therapies (MMT) to prevent the onset of childhood allergy and other atopic, immune and metabolic conditions.
MMT’s mechanism is thought to work by driving specific microbiome features that support an appropriate maturation of the infant immune system.
The agreement was facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation through Janssen Biotech, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.
The goal
A primary focus of the research will be to utilise Kaleido’s proprietary ex vivo screening platform to identify MMTs candidates that support the growth of specific beneficial microbes. These MMTs will then be further evaluated for their ability to prevent atopic conditions such as infant allergy.
Johan van Hylckama Vlieg, Chief Scientific Officer of Kaleido, said: “This programme will build on and deepen our understanding of how MMTs promote the growth of beneficial microbes driving the gut ecosystem to support immune homeostasis and reduce the risk of onset for allergies and other health conditions.”
MMTs
Kaleido’s Microbiome Metabolic Therapies, or MMTs, are designed to drive the function and distribution of the microbiome organ’s existing microbes in order to decrease or increase the production of metabolites, or to advantage or disadvantage certain bacteria in the microbiome community.
Kaleido’s initial MMT candidates are targeted glycans that are orally administered, have limited systemic exposure, and are selectively metabolised by enzymes in the microbiome.
Kaleido utilises its human-centric discovery and development platform to study MMTs in microbiome samples in an ex vivo setting, followed by advancing MMT candidates rapidly into clinical studies in healthy subjects and patients. These human clinical studies are conducted under regulations supporting research with food, evaluating safety, tolerability and potential markers of effect.
For MMT candidates that are further developed as therapeutics, Kaleido conducts clinical trials under an Investigational New Drug (IND) or regulatory equivalent outside the US, and in Phase 2 or later development.