Cancer continues to be a leading cause of disability and early mortality worldwide. Immune checkpoint blockade with PD/L-1 therapies such as Keytruda and Opdivo can induce complete and durable clinical responses in multiple tumors, a breakthrough in cancer treatment over the last decade. However, only around 20% of patients respond and many trials have failed
Many R&D programs in multiple companies are attempting to improve the clinical efficacy of PD/L-1 therapies, but no solution is yet approved. Most of these approaches target T-cells or the tumour microenvironment. Patients with healthier microbiomes respond better and therefore some companies are developing live biotherapeutics to enhance the microbiome, with initially promising clinical data.
Iome-Bio offers a differentiated approach through a targeted mode of action downstream of the microbiome’s action, enabling amplification of the signal with first in class monoclonal antibodies.