EverImmune Secure €3.5 million in Financing from Bpifrance
Funding, awarded as part of Innovation in biotherapeutics scheme, will enable everImmune to conduct phase I/II clinical trial for its drug Oncobax AK, live biotherapeutic drug designed to combat resistance to immunotherapy in patients with certain cancers
EverImmune, a biotechnology company specialised in the development of live biotherapeutic products in the field of microbiota oncology, announces that it has secured €3.46 million ($3.41M) in funding from Bpifrance, under the ‘Innovation in biotherapeutics’ scheme. The company will be able to conduct a phase I/II clinical trial for its drug candidate Oncobax AK in patients undergoing immunotherapy.
This funding, which is a mix of subsidies and repayable loans, will be used to recruit 71 trial patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) or Renal Cell Cancer (RCC). EverImmune will investigate whether Oncobax AK improves the effectiveness of the patients’ immunotherapy treatment. The clinical trial will be conducted in 15 hospitals throughout France and Belgium, including Gustave Roussy, the leading cancer centre that spun-off everImmune.
Over the past ten years, many findings have highlighted the importance of gut microbiota in determining the effectiveness of anticancer immunotherapies in both preclinical tumour models and cancer patients. EverImmune has harnessed this gut microbiota and developed a unique theragnostic approach, combining diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, which seeks to restore cancer patients’ response to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs). This approach focuses on Akkermansia (AK), a commensal bacterium that everImmune has identified as modulating the effectiveness of anticancer immunotherapies in patients with lung or kidney cancer.
The clinical trial uses a companion test to select the patients deficient in AK and resistant to immunotherapy treatment. These patients will be given a daily dose (one pill) of Oncobax AK (a Live Biotherapeutic Product [LPB]) to see if the drug can reverse this deficiency and in doing so boost the immune system and restore patients’ responsiveness to immunotherapies in primary resistance settings. Currently, only 30% of NSCLC patients and 40% of RCC patients respond to immunotherapy.
EverImmune also continues to develop a broader pipeline of products, including other bacteria with strong adjuvant potential for the treatment of different types of cancer, such as breast and colon cancers.
The global market for ICIs is estimated to reach $46 billion by 2026, with an annual growth rate of 9%. By the same year, global sales in this market are forecast to reach $17.4 billion for lung cancer and $4 billion for kidney cancer.
This call for projects is part of the France 2030 Acceleration Strategy launched by the French Government with the aim to:
- Catalyse and maintain excellence in biotherapy research by accelerating technology transfer and ensuring a constant flow of innovations, from the bench to the patient's bedside.
- Simplify and accelerate market access for new biomedicines to guarantee their quantity and quality, at affordable costs that are sustainable by the healthcare system.
- Develop France's industrial capacity to ensure and accelerate developments and industrialise production in France.
- Strengthen the structure of the sector by actively supporting the industry through the creation and financing of dedicated organisations.