Genome & Company

Scioto Biosciences, a Genome & Company affiliate, publish the protective results of ABT™platform in NEC

in medical journal ‘Brain, Behavior and Immunity’

n  Researchers from the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in the US, Developers of Activated Bacterial Therapeutics™ platform technology publish results from a study that looked at the effectiveness of microbiome.

n  “In the future, along with securing a new treatment for NEC, we will continue our efforts to increase efficacy by integrating Scioto Biosciences' ABT platform with other microbiome pipelines”

[12 May 2021] Global microbiome leading company Genome & Company (314130, CEO: Jisoo Pae ∙ Hansoo Park) has announced the effectiveness of a microbiome delivery platform (Activated Bacterial Therapeutic™ platform, hereinafter referred to as ABT platform) by its affiliate, Scioto Biosciences in an animal model of Necrotizing Enterocolitis (hereinafter referred to as NEC). The results of the animal model study were published in a paper in the medical journal, ‘Brain, Behavior and Immunity’ (Impact Factor, IF: 6.633), by researchers from the Abigail Wexner Research Institute (AWRI) at Nationwide Children's Hospital in the United States.

Through the results of this paper, researchers at AWRI, the original developer of the technology licensed to Scioto Biosciences, showed the efficacy of a single strain of Lactobacillus Reuteri (hereinafter, referred to as L. Reuteri) in the NEC animal model study. In addition, it was revealed that biofilm, formed through the ABT platform, enhance efficacy of microbiome drug, find out possibility of microbiome drug candidates could be developed. As a result of the animal model study, better efficacy was observed when the strain was grafted to the ABT platform technology than the existing L. Reuteri strain alone in reducing the incidence of NEC, preventing cognitive dysfunction and reducing anxiety behavior.

Scioto Biosciences, an affiliate of Genome & Company, has built its proprietary ABT platform that enhances the persistence of strains and holds exclusive licenses worldwide for the platform. The ABT platform is a technology that increases the viability and persistence of the strain by injecting pre-biotics into a specific strain into a microsphere similar to the gastric mucosa environment. Through this technology, Scioto has continued its research and development results confirming the possibility of microbiome as a medicine in areas such as brain diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, and neo-natal diseases.

Dr. Gail Besner, one of the Scientific Founders of Scioto Biosciences led this study, and said, "It was meaningful to confirm the efficacy of a single strain of L. Reuteri and to obtain positive results for the ABT platform technology, in protecting not only the intestines, but also the brain after intestinal injury." “These important results support the neonatal disease of NEC as a future target for microbiome treatment based on the ABT platform,” she added.

Dr. Gail Besner is co-founder of Scioto Biosciences and holds equity in Scioto Biosciences. She has received financial compensation from Scioto for the technology licensed to Scioto Biosciences from Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Dr. Besner may receive additional compensation related to the successful commercialization of the technology

In the case of 'SB-121', microbiome-based therapeutic targeting disorders related to the gut-brain axis, which is one of Scioto biosciences’s major pipelines, it is scheduled to start clinical trials in the first half of 2021 for patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ‘SB-121' is a microbiome medicine candidate researched and developed using the ABT platform. Based on the results of this study, Scioto Biosciences is planning an additional clinical trial for NEC in the first half of next year.

Han-soo Park, CEO of Genome & Company, said, “This publication is a meaningful result that shows the possibility of treating NEC in the absence of existing treatments. In the future, along with securing a new treatment for NEC, we will continue our efforts to increase efficacy by integrating Scioto Biosciences’s ABT platform with other microbiome pipelines.”

On the other hand, Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) is a rare disease that occurs in about 10% of pre-mature infants and about 30% of them die and about 45% of the survivors experience cognitive and neurodevelopmental disorders. The cause of the onset has not been clearly identified, but microbial dysbiosis and pre-mature gut are believed to be the most likely causes.

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[Photo 1] Genome & Company, Scioto Biosciences CI