Thursday, November 14, 2019
Finch Therapeutics Group, Inc. (“Finch”) and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited announced today the expansion of their collaboration to develop microbiome-based therapeutics using Finch’s Human-First Discovery® platform. Under the terms of the expanded agreement, Finch and Takeda will utilize Finch’s platform to target Crohn’s disease, a form of inflammatory bowel disease.
Finch’s Human-First Discovery platform enables the development of Full-Spectrum Microbiota® (FSM®) therapies that contain a diverse community of microbiota from human donors, as well as Rationally-Selected Microbiota® (RSM®) therapies that contain select bacterial strains, grown in pure culture, that have been linked to favorable clinical outcomes in human microbiota transplantation studies. In collaboration with Takeda, Finch’s first RSM product, FIN-524, is advancing through pre-clinical development for the treatment of ulcerative colitis.
“We are pleased to expand our collaboration with Takeda,” said Mark Smith, PhD, CEO of Finch. “We’ve had a very fruitful collaboration with Takeda on the development of FIN-524, and we look forward to utilizing the knowledge we’ve built together to pursue the development of new therapeutic options for an even wider group of patients battling IBD.”
“We’ve seen the promise of Finch’s Human-First Discovery platform for the development of a completely new type of treatment for inflammatory bowel disease,” said Gareth Hicks, PhD, Vice President & Head of Gastroenterology Drug Discovery Unit at Takeda. “Through our work with Finch to understand the therapeutic potential of the microbiome, we hope to develop new treatment options that make a meaningful difference for individuals living with IBD.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Takeda will receive exclusive worldwide rights to commercialize an RSM product developed for Crohn’s disease. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
