LNC Therapeutics announces the grant of the first worldwide patent relating to the therapeutic applications of christensenella bacteria

• Christensenella are a group of bacteria present in the gut microbiome which have high potential to impact human health

• LNC Therapeutics intends to develop a new class of drugs based on christensenella for the treatment of obesity, metabolic diseases, and other serious indications with significant unmet medical needs

Bordeaux, 26^thMarch 2019 – LNC Therapeutics, a French biotech company specializing in gut microbiome-based drug discovery, announced today the grant of the Cornell University (Ithaca, New-York, USA) patent relating to christensenella bacteria.

This patent granted by the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office), and covering the therapeutic applications of this group of bacteria, is the first of its kind worldwide.

It follows LNC Therapeutics’ acquisition from Cornell University in October 2018 of the exclusive licence relating to its christensenella patent family. Therefore, LNC Therapeutics holds the exclusive and worldwide exploitation, manufacturing and marketing rights on therapeutic products based on its own bacterial strains, for the treatment of obesity, metabolic diseases and other serious indications with significant unmet medical needs.

Christensenella: a unique genus of bacteria illustrating the potential of the gut microbiome for the treatment of serious diseases with significant unmet medical needs

The gut microbiome includes all the microorganisms present in the intestine. It plays a key role in the body’s main functions, such as digestion, metabolism, immunity and neurological function.

The Christensenella genus, a keystone microorganism of the gut microbiota identified in 2012, have been highlighted for their beneficial effects on human health by numerous academic teams in universities worldwide.

Christensenella showed a strong potential for the treatment of obesity, metabolic diseases and inflammatory bowel diseases. More recently, it was isolated from the microbiome of long-lived individuals.

LNC Therapeutics: a biotech company focusing on the gut microbiome with the objective to develop a new class of drugs based on christensenella

LNC Therapeutics is currently conducting its own research on christensenella to explore their therapeutic potential in serious diseases with significant unmet medical needs. The company intends to develop a new class of drugs, called Live Biotherapeutic Products or LBPs[1], capable of treating the microbiome to restore defective functions.

LNC Therapeutics is conducting two research programmes based on the properties of the Christensenella genus:

• LNC01, which uses the properties of the bacteria Christensenella minuta for the treatment of obesity and metabolic diseases. This programme examines LNC Therapeutics’ various proprietary strains to select a bacteria candidate to be used in a future clinical trial;
• LNC02, which is an exploratory research programme designed to identify new therapeutic applications for christensenella, beyond obesity and metabolic diseases.

“The patent relating to christensenella granted by Cornell University fits perfectly into our development strategy. LNC Therapeutics is currently the only company in the world to develop Live Biotherapeutic Products based on the therapeutic properties of christensenella. We are convinced that this new class of drugs holds potential for improving human health. We will continue our research efforts, focusing both on the treatment of obesity and metabolic diseases, and on the identification of new applications for diseases whose medical needs have not yet been met,” concludedGeorges Rawadi, CEO of LNC Therapeutics.

[1]LBP: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines Live Biotherapeutic Products as a new class of biological products that contains live organisms, such as bacteria, that are applicable to the prevention, treatment, or cure of a disease or condition of human beings, and that are not vaccines.