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New microbiome drug candidate licensed by major manufacturer

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Vedanta Biosciences announced the company signed a license agreement for its lead microbiome pharmaceutical candidate (VE202) with Janssen Biotech, Inc., a Janssen Pharmaceutical Company of Johnson & Johnson, according to a press release.

“The recent enthusiasm around the microbiome needs to be directed to translational research to truly fulfill the potential of the field,” Ruslan Medzhitov, PhD, professor at Yale University and co-founder and chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of Vedanta, said in the release. “We chose our lead candidate because it had such robust data supporting its profound role in human biology.”

The terms of agreement state Janssen will develop and commercialize VE202 in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The contract allows Vedanta to research other disease indications which opens the possibility of Janssen and Vedanta to market such indications with similar terms.

VE202 is one of the first drug candidates that evolved from the research of microbiomes and how they interact with human disease. According to the release, it was effective in preclinical studies that used autoimmune disease models.

“Vedanta was founded on the belief that the microbiome represents one of the great frontiers of human health,” David Steinberg, interim CEO of Vedanta, said in the release. “Johnson & Johnson Innovation and Janssen have demonstrated that they share this vision, and we’re excited to be working with them to bring this program forward.”

The companies’ agreement builds off of an investment that Johnson & Johnson Innovation and Vedanta initially made in June 2013.