Enterome partners with Vertex over treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases

French company Enterome Bioscience has signed an exclusive worldwide license agreement with US biotech Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: VRTX) to research, develop and commercialize novel small molecule FimH antagonists to treat inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).

Enterome, which specializes in the development of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics based on the gut microbiome, plans to take EB 8018, the lead compound in this program, into first human clinical trials this year, as well as a companion diagnostic to identify patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) who will benefit from their use.

Through application of its metagenomics platform, Enterome has identified a key bacterial species – adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) – which is responsible for triggering inflammation in IBD.