Novome and Genentech link up on IBD drug development

US biotech start-up Novome Biotechnologies has signed a multi-year research collaboration and licensing agreement with Genentech, a Roche (ROG: SIX) subsidiary, to use Novome’s proprietary Genetically Engineered Microbial Medicines (GEMMs) platform to discover targets in the human intestinal tract to treat diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Novome is focused on treating chronic diseases with the first platform for the controlled and robust colonization of the human gut with engineered bacteria to deliver targeted therapeutic cargos and functions. The IBD program is the third program to advance in the company’s pipeline; its lead program targeting enteric hyperoxaluria (EH), a common cause of kidney stone formation, entered into a Phase I clinical trial earlier this year.

Under the terms of the agreement, Novome will have responsibility for research activities up to initiation of investigational new drug (IND)-enabling pre-clinical studies for this multi-target collaboration. Genentech will be responsible for clinical development of candidates and commercialization of potential medicines resulting from the collaboration.