Kanvas Biosciences aims to create a “Google Maps” for the microbiome that can help fine-tune treatments for cancer and other diseases.ver the past two decades, immunotherapies have become a key tool in doctors’ arsenals for cancer patients. This class of drug uses the body’s own immune system to attack tumors. But despite their growing utilization, checkpoint inhibitors — a type of immunotherapy — are unsuccessful in many cancer patients.
"We know that the microbiome is absolutely critical to human health – everything from nutrient digestion to drug metabolism and immune system regulation – but we haven't been able to properly characterize it or leverage it for drug development,” Cofounder and CEO Matt Cheng said. “So I thought that if we developed a novel spatial biology platform that actually understood and characterized the microbiome, we could do amazing things to help people.
A number of biotech startups have promised to crack the code of the microbiome, but few have achieved long-term viability, with the notable exception of Flagship Pioneering-backed Seres Therapeutics, whichto Nestle Health Science. Microbiome startup Viome Life Sciences, which uses A.I. to analyze results from at-home diagnostics kits, has also won over investors, closing an $86.
“When I first saw Kanvas, now nearly three years ago, I was blown away by the specificity and the sensitivity of the HiPR-FISH platform,” Pontin said. “And I thought, this is the platform that I had been waiting for.” What was different about the technology, he said, is that “it finally makes it possible for us to really understand those host-microbiome interactions.”
Working with MD Anderson, Kanvas identified a bacterial “superdonor” which it then used to develop its lead drug candidate, dubbed KAN-001. By altering the makeup of a patient’s microbiome with dozens of bacterial strains, KAN-001 “primes” their immune system to fight cancer more effectively with the help of immunotherapy.
Education Education Latest News, Education Education Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: Nature - 🏆 64. / 68 Read more »