Clearance for Proof-of-Concept Phase I human trial in oncology received from Israeli Ministry of Health

REHOVOT, Israel I January 11, 2022 I Biomica Ltd., an emerging biopharmaceutical company developing innovative microbiome-based therapeutics and a subsidiary of Evogene Ltd. (NASDAQ: EVGN) (TASE: EVGN), today announced that the Israeli Ministry of Health (MoH) cleared the company to proceed with its Proof-of-Concept (POC), Phase I clinical trial of Biomica’s drug candidate BMC-128 in patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), Melanoma or Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC), in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) immunotherapy (an anti-PD-1 agent). 

Biomica has entered into a supply agreement for the utilization of Bristol Myers Squibb’s (BMS) Opdivo® to evaluate the safety and tolerability of BMC-128 therapy in combination with nivolumab (Opdivo®), a human anti-PD-1 therapy, in multiple cancer indications.

The POC combination trial is designed to be a first-in-human (FIH) open-label study to evaluate the safety and tolerability of BMC-128 in combination with BMS’ Opdivo® in patients with NSCLC, melanoma or RCC, clinical signals will be monitored as well. This study is expected to take place at Rambam Health Care Campus, as previously announced[1].

About BMC128:

BMC128 is a rationally designed microbial consortium identified and selected through a detailed functional microbiome analysis using PRISM, a proprietary high-resolution microbiome analysis platform powered by Evogene’s MicroBoost AI platform.

Developed as a Live Bacterial Product (LBP), BMC128 is an LBP consortium comprised of four unique bacterial strains, natural inhabitants of the human intestinal tract, that harbor specific functional capabilities with the potential to enhance immunological therapeutic responses and facilitate anti-tumor immune activity through multiple biological processes.

Rationally-designed consortia are multi-strain products designed to restore diversity and specific functionality to a host’s microbial community with individually selected, cultured bacteria.

About Biomica Ltd.:

Biomica is an emerging biopharmaceutical company developing innovative microbiome-based therapeutics utilizing a dedicated Computational Predictive Biology platform (CPB), licensed from Evogene. Biomica aims to identify and characterize disease-related microbiome entities and to develop novel therapeutics based on these understandings. The company is focused on the development of therapies for antibiotic resistant bacteria, immuno-oncology, and microbiome-related gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. Biomica is a subsidiary of Evogene Ltd. (NASDAQ: EVGN, TASE: EVGN). For more information, please visit www.biomicamed.com.

About Evogene Ltd.:

Evogene (NASDAQ: EVGN, TASE: EVGN) is a leading computational biology company focused on revolutionizing product discovery and development in multiple life-science based industries, including human health and agriculture, through the use of our broadly applicable Computational Predictive Biology (CPB) platform.  The CPB platform, incorporating a deep understanding of biology leveraged through the power of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, has been designed to computationally discover and uniquely guide the development of life-science products based on microbes, small molecules and genetic elements.  Utilizing the CPB platform, Evogene and its subsidiaries are now advancing product pipelines for human microbiome-based therapeutics through Biomica Ltd., medical cannabis through Canonic Ltd., ag-biologicals through Lavie Bio Ltd., ag-chemicals through AgPlenus Ltd., and ag-solutions for castor oil production through Casterra Ag Ltd. For more information, please visit www.evogene.com.

SOURCE: Biomica