Small biotech companies are currently predominant in the microbiome-targeted therapeutics area and larger pharmaceutical organisations are seeking their alliance to further drive development of the said drug pipeline for immunology, according to a report by GlobalData.

Titled ‘Microbiome-Targeted Therapeutics in Immunology’, the report surveys therapies targeting the skin microbiome for acne, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis treatments.

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In addition, it focuses on drugs targeting the gut microbiome to treat Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The availability of only a few such therapeutics is expected to provide pharma firms with numerous opportunities.

As of the first quarter of this year, treatments targeting gut microbiome were on the forefront of the pipeline, with ten candidates in clinical development stage. However, only three therapies targeting skin microbiome are being clinically studied.

At present, Canada-based Qu Biologics and US-based AOBiome are reported to be well-positioned in gut microbiome and skin microbiome space, respectively.

“At present, Canada-based Qu Biologics and US-based AOBiome are reported to be well-positioned in gut microbiome and skin microbiome space, respectively.”

Qu Biologics’ QBECO-SSI is currently in Phase IIa trial against ulcerative colitis and Phase IIb for Crohn’s disease, while AOBiome has B-244 in Phase II development to treat atopic dermatitis and Phase III development for acne.

This focus of both firms on the same therapy may pose a substantial risk for them, states Alexandra Annis, pharma analyst at GlobalData.

While the potential of gut microbiome-targeting therapies seems to be limited due to lack of science knowledge, GlobalData predicts more opportunities for those targeting the skin microbiome.

Skin microbiome-targeting candidates under development are AOBiome’s Phase II/III B-244 and Matrisys Bioscience’s Phase IIa MSB-01 for atopic dermatitis, and SFA Therapeutics’ Phase I drug for psoriasis.

Key opinion leaders (KOLs) interviewed by the company predict the use of faecal microbiota transplant (FMT) for inflammatory bowel disease and IBS treatment.

According to Annis, if and when FMT becomes optimised and widely available with confirmed long-term safety, it could impact the sales of other treatment options.