MaaT Pharma raise €18m to advance clinical pipeline

The financing included the microbiome-focused US investor, SymBiosis, LLC, and was supported by MaaT Pharma’s existing investors Seventure Partners, Crédit Mutuel Innovation, and Biocodex.

According to the Lyon-based company the assets from the funding will be used to advance and expand the company’s clinical pipeline, to microbial immunooncological adjuvants that boost the T cell reactivity of immune checkpoint modulators.

“A growing body of evidence suggests that a functional microbiome can improve cancer outcomes, and we look forward to continue building on our initial proof of concept by going beyond hematological malignancies into solid tumors,” said Hervé Affagard, co-founder and CEO of MaaT Pharma.

MaaT Pharma said it wants to complete the ongoing HERACLES Phase II clinical trial (NCT03359980) of
its lead compound, MaaT013, in patients with steroid-refractory, gastrointestinal-predominant, acute Graft-versus-Host-Disease (SR aGvHD) following allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (allo-HSCT). In addition, the company wants to accelerate the development of a capsule formulation of MaaT013, MaaT033, and initiate a Phase Ib trial with MaaT033.

Recent studies demonstrated that restoring a balanced microbiome can significantly improve the clinical outcomes of checkpoint inhibitors, and MaaT Pharma will investigate this potential in a combination trial in solid tumours. Preliminary data from the safety and dose-finding Phase 1b trial of MaaT033 is expected in H2/2020.