Cowellnex Inc. and California-based Siolta Therapeutics Inc. have signed an agreement to conduct preclinical joint research for developing the probiotics late last month.
Tokyo-based Cowellnex is a group company of Kirin Holdings and was formed last September via a joint venture between Kirin and Kyowa-Kirin.
Siolta Therapeutics, on the other hand, specialises in microbiome science and developing products for preventing or treating microbiome-related diseases among women and infants, such as paediatric atopic diseases and bacterial vaginosis in women.
The company is also linked to Kirin Holdings through investments from Kirin’s Health Innovation Fund.
Necrotizing enterocolitis is a serious condition which Johns Hopkins Medicine refers as “the death of intestinal tissue”. It is characterised by infection and inflammation in the gut.
It occurs in premature infants or sick new-borns, with mortality rate as high as 50 per cent.
While the cause is not well established, immaturity of the digestive system and gut is said to be one of them.
As a result, affected children may not be able to digest and pass out waste materials.
Another reason thought to cause NEC is the growth of dangerous bacteria.
“Despite improvements in neonatal care, NEC remains associated with complications and a high mortality rate, making it urgent to develop effective ways to suppress the onset of NEC and develop treatments.
“This joint research will utilize Siolta’s unique research platform to develop a live bacterial formulation that suppresses the onset of NEC,” said Kirin.
Existing findings on gut microbiome and NEC
The human milk oligosaccharide DSLNT (disialyllacto-N-tetraose), also a prebiotic, has been linked to a lower risk of NEC in preterm infants.
The cohort study, published in Gut in 2018, studied 200 mothers and their very low birthweight infants that were mostly fed with breast milk.
The researchers then studied the HMO composition in the breast milk given and tracked if there was any onset of NEC.
Findings found that among the eight infants that developed NEC, DSLNT concentrations were significantly lower in “almost all” milk samples that these infants were fed on.
The researchers added that NEC incidence is significantly lower in breast-fed compared with formula-fed infants.
This could be because infant formulas lack HMOs such as DSLNT which has been shown to prevent NEC in neonatal rats.
“DSLNT content in breast milk is a potential non-invasive marker to identify infants at risk of developing NEC, and screen high-risk donor milk.
“In addition, DSLNT could serve as a natural template to develop novel therapeutics against this devastating disorder,” said the researchers.
In another study also published in Gut in 2021, researchers similarly reported that DSLNT was significantly lower in breast milk consumed by infants with NEC as compared to the controls.
The researchers also found that infants down with NEC have significantly lower relative abundance of Bifidobacterium longum and higher relative abundance of Enterobacter cloacae prior to them developing the illness.
Bifidobacterium is found in abundance in healthy breast-fed infants while Enterobacter cloacae is known to be a contaminant of raw milk, yogurt, cheese, and other dairy produce.
“These results demonstrate the importance of HMOs and gut microbiome in preterm infant health and disease.
“The findings offer potential targets for biomarker development, disease risk stratification and novel avenues for supplements that may prevent life-threatening disease,” said the researchers.
