Ferring Pharmaceuticals, a Saint-Prex, Switzerland-headquartered biopharmaceutical company, has agreed to acquire Rebiotix, a Roseville, Minnesota-headquartered clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments involving the human microbiome.
The most advanced investigational microbiome treatment from Rebiotix is RBX2660, a non-antibiotic treatment currently in Phase III development for preventing recurrent Clostridium difficile colitis (CDI). In the US, RBX2660 has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fast track, breakthrough therapy, and orphan drug designations, which means the FDA considers it eligible for expedited review once the submission has been made.
Rebiotix’s proprietary Microbiota Restoration Therapy (MRT) drug platform is designed to deliver healthy, live, human-derived microbes into the gastrointestinal tract. It provides a product that is ready-to-use in an easy-to-administer format, according to information from the companies. Its MRT pipeline consists of a number of investigational treatments, including RBX7455, a non-frozen, lyophilized oral capsule formulation, in development for preventing recurrent CDI.
In addition to the acquisition of Rebiotix, Ferring is supported by ongoing partnerships with research organizations and companies in the field of microbiome research, including: the Karolinska Institute, a Swedish medical university; Science for Life Laboratory, a Swedish national research center; the Center for Translational Microbiome Research, a Swedish research center affiliated with the Karolinska Institute; Intralytix, a Baltimore, Maryland-based biopharmaceutical company; the Institute Pasteur, a Paris-based research foundation; the University of Lille, a French University; MyBiotics Pharma, a Rehovot, Israel-based life-science company; March of Dimes; and Metabogen, a Swedish microbiome company.