Can microbiome-based therapeutics fight bacterial vaginosis?

Can microbiome-based therapeutics fight bacterial vaginosis?

The collaboration plans to create stabilized live microbiota-based formulations for treating bacterial vaginosis
| 2 min read
Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
2:00

ST PREX, Switzerland, ROSEVILLE, Minn., & ROHOVOT, Israel—Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Rebiotix Inc., and MyBiotics Pharma Ltd. have announced a multi-year strategic collaboration in which the companies plan to develop live microbiota-based biotherapeutics to address bacterial vaginosis (BV).

BV is a common vaginal infection among women of reproductive age, and it has been linked to increased risk of miscarriage, as well as complications for pregnancy and fertility. BV is currently treated with antibiotics — which disrupt the vaginal microbiome — and it’s common for bacterial vaginosis to return following treatment. A microbiota-based treatment could potentially reduce the need for antibiotic use, and provide a long-term treatment solution.

“We are proud to be undertaking this collaboration, as it is a critical step forward in meeting patient needs through the potential of the microbiome,” said Ken Blount, chief scientific officer of Rebiotix and vice president of Microbiome Research at Ferring Pharmaceuticals. “This collaboration with MyBiotics not only harnesses our collective expertise in developing live microbiota-based biotherapeutic technologies, but also reaffirms Ferring’s deep commitment to building families worldwide through innovations in reproductive medicine and maternal health.”

The multi-year agreement will combine MyBiotics’ unique culturing, delivery, and colonization technologies with Rebiotix’s expertise in developing clinical-stage live microbiota-based biotherapeutic products, and Ferring’s therapeutic development and commercial expertise. The new agreement builds on an existing collaboration between Ferring and MyBiotics that was initiated in 2017, which has already successfully piloted technologies intended to stabilize selected bacterial species critical to the health of the female reproductive tract, using MyBiotics’ MyCrobe technology.

“Today’s agreement is an important evolution of our long-standing relationship with Ferring in the field of microbiota-based therapies for the benefit of women's health, including reproduction and pregnancy. We look forward to combining our innovative MyCrobe live bacteria culturing, delivery and colonization technology with the world-leading development experience of Rebiotix for the benefit of women,” noted David Daboush, CEO of MyBiotics. “The collaboration with Rebiotix builds on our successful collaboration with Ferring, and we are excited to build on that strong relationship targeted to bringing novel treatments to patients through our tailor-made microbiome technology platform.”

MyBiotics has developed robust culturing, fermentation, and delivery technologies for generating a highly stable and diverse bacterial community that can be efficiently delivered to different sites across the human body, to restore microbiome equilibrium. The company’s technologies are effective for single microbes, complex microbial consortia, and whole microbiome products. This technology is also integrated with a computational AI platform, which is said to enable the design of unique microbial consortia and whole microbiome profiles.

Loading Next Article...
Loading Next Article...
Subscribe to Newsletter

Subscribe to our eNewsletters

Stay connected with all of the latest from Drug Discovery News.

Subscribe

Sponsored

Laboratorian with a white coat and blue gloves pipettes green liquid into a beaker with multicolored liquids in beakers and tubes in the blue-tinged, sterile laboratory background.

Discovering cutting-edge nitrosamine analysis in pharmaceuticals

New tools help researchers detect and manage harmful nitrosamine impurities in drugs such as monoclonal antibodies.
A starry night sky reflected over calm water, symbolizing the discovery of hidden patterns in complex systems.

Technology Guide: Spatial biology techniques

Discover essential strategies and expert insights to navigate the expanding world of spatial biology.
Red tumor cells are shown against a teal backdrop showing attachment to tissue.

Decoding the tumor microenvironment with immune profiling

Integrating multiplexed immunohistochemistry with spatial analysis offers a practical way to uncover tumor-immune dynamics.
Drug Discovery News March 2025 Issue
Latest IssueVolume 21 • Issue 1 • March 2025

March 2025

March 2025 Issue

Explore this issue