Ferring Pharmaceuticals and PharmaBiome have entered into a research and development collaboration to advance new microbiome-based biotherapeutics in the field of gastroenterology.

The deal provides Ferring with exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize next generation microbiome-based therapeutics resulting from the collaboration.

PharmaBiome has developed a technology platform to select bacterial strains for the design of bacterial consortia as live biotherapeutics with defined activities, an approach that enables fast and scalable production. PharmaBiome’s programs are a next generation of products that are independent of donor material and deliver the consortium of bacterial strains with the desired activity and therapeutic effect (defined consortia).

In a statement, Ferring said that it is the first company to successfully bring forward a first-in-class FDA-approved live microbiome-based therapy. Ferring has the scale and ability to advance clinical trials and manufacture of microbiome-based products.

“This agreement is the latest in Ferring’s long term mission to maximize the therapeutic potential of the gut microbiome for the benefit of patients,” said Carl Bilbo, senior vice president, Microbiome, Ferring Pharmaceuticals. “PharmaBiome’s unique technology enables identification and manufacturing of defined consortium live microbiome biotherapeutics that could reverse microbiome dysbiosis linked to disease. This collaboration is a successful example of our strategy to use external innovation to build our pipeline complementary to our in-house research; and we aim to do further collaborations to build a vibrant research community.”

Tomas de Wouters, CEO, PharmaBiome said, “The trust of Ferring in our translational approach is an important validation of our work and a unique opportunity to accelerate the development of our rationally designed consortia with an experienced market leader in the microbiome therapeutic field. We are thrilled about the complementary expertise between our companies and look forward to a fruitful collaboration.”