Kaleido Biosciences and Washington University School of Medicine to Collaborate on Exploring the Influence of Microbiome Metabolic Therapies (MMT™) on Physiology and Metabolism


LEXINGTON, Mass., Oct. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kaleido Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: KLDO), a clinical-stage healthcare company with a chemistry-driven approach to leveraging the microbiome organ to treat disease and improve human health, has entered into a research collaboration with Jeffrey Gordon, M.D., Director of the Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology at Washington University School of Medicine, to explore the influence of Microbiome Metabolic Therapies (MMT™) on microbial and host physiology and metabolism.

Dr. Gordon is considered the founder of the modern microbiome field and is recognized worldwide for his fundamental work in uncovering the underpinnings of the relationships between microorganisms residing in the gut and mammalian physiology. He and his group have focused their efforts on understanding the influence of the gut microbiota on nutritional status, notably in two pressing global health challenges – obesity and childhood malnutrition. Under the collaboration, gnotobiotic preclinical models will be combined with innovative experimental and computational methods to further identify molecular pathways by which Kaleido’s MMTs can modify the functional configuration of the gut microbiome and its metabolic outputs.

“The research and techniques emerging from Dr. Gordon’s laboratory have greatly influenced the scientific understanding of the microbiome’s impact on health and are foundational to the emergence of microbiome-based intervention strategies. We are honored to collaborate with Dr. Gordon and his team, and to access their tools and technology as we advance our knowledge of the effects of our MMTs in vivo,” said Johan van Hylckama Vlieg, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Kaleido. “The insights we expect to gain together into the pharmacology of MMTs, how they are processed in the GI tract and which microbes they influence, will greatly benefit Kaleido’s development programs and future pipeline and advance the field of microbiome research.”

“Understanding the metabolic foundations of the relationship between humans and their gut microbiomes is key to identifying new ways to change the properties of our microbial communities to improve health status,” said Dr. Gordon. “As part of the collaboration, we’ll be evaluating how MMTs influence the metabolic interactions between key components of the gut microbiome during and after its formation. We’re working to devise new ways to deliberately and safely alter the gut microbiome’s metabolic output in certain disease contexts, including malnutrition.”

About Microbiome Metabolic Therapies (MMT)
Kaleido’s Microbiome Metabolic Therapies, or MMTs, are designed to drive the function and distribution of the microbiome organ’s existing microbes in order to decrease or increase the production of metabolites, or to advantage or disadvantage certain bacteria in the microbiome community. The Company’s initial MMT candidates are targeted glycans that are orally administered, have limited systemic exposure, and are selectively metabolized by enzymes in the microbiome.  Kaleido utilizes its human-centric discovery and development platform to study MMTs in microbiome samples in an ex vivo setting, followed by advancing MMT candidates rapidly into clinical studies in healthy subjects and patients. These human clinical studies are conducted under regulations supporting research with food, evaluating safety, tolerability and potential markers of effect.  For MMT candidates that are further developed as therapeutics, the Company conducts clinical trials under an Investigational New Drug (IND) or regulatory equivalent outside the U.S., and in Phase 2 or later development.  

About Kaleido Biosciences
Kaleido Biosciences is a clinical-stage healthcare company with a differentiated, chemistry-driven approach to leveraging the microbiome organ to treat disease and improve human health. The Company has built a human-centric proprietary product platform to enable the rapid and cost-efficient discovery and development of novel Microbiome Metabolic Therapies (MMT™). MMTs are designed to modulate the metabolic output and profile of the microbiome by driving the function and distribution of the organ’s existing microbes. Kaleido is advancing a broad pipeline of MMT candidates with the potential to address a variety of diseases and conditions with significant unmet patient needs. To learn more, visit https://kaleido.com/.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including, without limitation, statements regarding the therapeutic potential of our MMT candidates and our strategy, business plans and focus. The words “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “target” and similar words and expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words or expressions. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and important factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, including, without limitation, those related to non-IND clinical studies of our MMT product candidates including statements regarding the rapidity at which our human-centric discovery and development platform can advance our MMT product candidates, the clinical development and safety profile of our MMT candidates and their therapeutic potential, whether and when, if at all, our MMT candidates will receive approval form the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and for which, if any, indications, competition from other biotechnology companies, and other risks identified in our SEC filings, including our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and subsequent filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent our views only as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. We explicitly disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Contact
Amy Reilly
617-890-5721
amy.reilly@kaleido.com