Mayo Clinic, Second Genome Partner For Microbiome Therapeutics

The Mayo Clinic has teamed up with Second Genome in order to develop products for multiple diseases, including colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and metabolic disorders. Heidi Nelson, M.D., director of the Microbiome Program at the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine, said in a press release, “The microbiome is an important area of medical research for Mayo Clinic, and this collaboration represents a broad and significant effort in our attempt to develop therapeutics targeting microbiome-mediated pathways. We believe that Second Genome’s drug discovery capability complements our clinical expertise.”

Mayo Clinic and Second Genome Agreement

Under the terms of the agreement between the Mayo Clinic and Second Genome, Second Genome is responsible for identifying clinical targets where microbiome therapy may be beneficial. Second Genome will identify eight targets that Mayo investigators have expertise in, maximizing the collaboration. The Mayo Clinic will then provide patients’ samples from those diseases so Second Genome can identify microbiome-mediated biological pathways and develop treatments. The Mayo Clinic will make available past and future studies on the selected diseases and provide clinical and research expertise. The Mayo Clinic is making an undisclosed financial investment in the project.

Microbiome Therapeutics

Peter B. DiLaura, Second Genome’s CEO, said, “The importance of the microbiome in a wide range of diseases is increasingly obvious.” The company’s microbiome platform seeks to utilize the 100 trillion microorganisms that live in the gut, mouth, skin, and other areas. The genes associated with the organisms are known as the “second genome,” as they outnumber human genes by a factor of 100-to-one. Microbiome therapeutics harness the microbiomes and their genes as isolated bacterial species and as part of a bacterial community.

Second Genome is researching how an individual microbiota interacts with itself, with other microbiota, and with the microbial community in the body. In developing approaches, the company studies healthy microbial colonies and compares them to microbial communities in people with diseases or conditions in order to develop diagnostics and novel drugs. The company uses a proprietary approach that generates small molecule, peptide biologic, probiotic, and symbiotic product candidates.