Microbiotica, a leading player in microbiome-based therapeutics and biomarkers, Cancer Research UK and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (“CUH”), announce a collaboration to identify and develop microbiome co-therapeutics and biomarkers for cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

The collaboration is based on clinical studies conducted by CUH that evaluate immune checkpoint inhibitor drug response in cancer patients, combined with Microbiotica’s unrivalled microbiome profiling and analysis capability.

Two clinical studies are involved: MELRESIST, a completed class-leading melanoma study, and MITRE, a major landmark study in melanoma, lung and renal cancer, involving 1,800 patients, specifically designed for evaluation of microbiome and other biomarker effects.

The MITRE study will be co-led by Dr Trevor Lawley, Microbiotica’s co-founder and CSO, and Dr Pippa Corrie, Consultant in Medical Oncology at CUH, and will involve comprehensive patient sample collection, data collection and biochemical analysis, with medicines provided by the NHS. Microbiotica will undertake mass culturing of patient gut bacteria, microbiome sequencing and machine learning analysis.

Checkpoint inhibitors have transformed the management of cancer, due to the range of cancers that can be treated and their high levels of efficacy, including complete remission in some cases. However, response rates are low, typically in the range 10-40% of patients. There is therefore a major unmet need for co-therapies to extend the number of responders and for biomarkers to stratify patients for treatment.

Several studies have shown that the gut microbiome plays a critical and causative role in determining which patients respond to these medicines. However thus far they have failed to identify a consistent gut bacterial signature associated with treatment response or resistance. Microbiotica has used its unique microbiome profiling platform with MELRESIST data to identify for the first time a common signature predictive of drug response across multiple melanoma studies, and this is being progressed within the Company. MITRE will take this further by examining the effects in different cancers, a range of immunotherapy regimens, as well as association with side-effects of immunotherapy.

Microbiotica’s platform comprises the world’s leading Reference Genome Database and Culture Collection of gut bacteria, and an unrivalled capability to culture and characterise all gut bacteria from patients at scale. This is complemented by a suite of bioinformatic and machine learning tools that enable the identification of previously undetectable gut bacterial signatures linked to patient phenotype. The Company also has capabilities to develop and take such products to the clinic.

The collaboration will identify specific gut bacterial signatures correlated with drug efficacy and side effects in patients under treatment for melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer and renal cancer. From these signatures, Microbiotica will progress live bacterial products as co-therapies and microbiome biomarkers predictive of immunotherapy response and toxicity into the clinic.

Mike Romanos, Co-founder and CEO, Microbiotica, said:

“Checkpoint inhibitors have already impacted the lives of many cancer patients for the better but fewer than half of patients respond. There is strong evidence that response rates can be increased through manipulation of the microbiome and Microbiotica’s platform has already been able to identify consistent bacterial signatures predictive of drug response in melanoma for the first time.

“The collaboration enables us to base our therapeutic and biomarker programs on two exceptional studies, MELRESIST and MITRE, bringing together well-powered data in patient efficacy and safety response, immunological and tumour biochemistry, with the most comprehensive microbiome classification and analysis.

“We have been applying our technology in other large-scale clinical studies to identify drug response signatures for biomarker and therapeutic discovery, such as our collaboration with Genentech in IBD, the most precise large-scale microbiome clinical study to date. We are delighted that Cancer Research UK and CUH have also recognized Microbiotica’s leadership in the microbiome and have chosen to partner with us in this landmark cancer microbiome study.”

Tony Hickson, Chief Business Officer, Cancer Research UK, said:

“Cancer Research UK is always looking at the most promising new science to advance the treatment of patients, and we believe that the microbiome represents a very exciting new area that could play a major role in cancer therapy. We believe this partnership is very well placed to do the quality of science required to identify the specific link between the gut microbiome and checkpoint inhibitors in multiple cancers. We look forward to working with the excellent teams in Microbiotica and Cambridge University Hospitals to progress new microbiome medicines and biomarkers toward the clinic.”

About Microbiotica

Microbiotica is a leading player in the field of microbiome-based therapeutics, biomarkers and targets. The Company is building a growing pipeline of best-in-class differentiated products based on high quality clinical datasets and unique bacterial signatures that drive biology, identified by its proprietary platform.

Consisting of the world’s leading microbiome Reference Genome Database, Culture Collection, mass culturing technology (Personalised Bacterial Bank) and proprietary AI tools, Microbiotica’s platform enables unrivalled strain-level microbiome analysis linked to patient phenotypes. The Company’s current therapeutic areas of focus are immuno-oncology and IBD, and it has established major clinical and academic partnerships, including a $534m collaboration with Genentech.

Spun out of the Sanger Institute in 2016 by Dr Mike Romanos, Dr Trevor Lawley and Professor Gordon Dougan, the Company is based at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridge, UK, with offices in the Biodata Innovation Centre and laboratories in the Sanger Institute. Microbiotica’s investor syndicate includes Cambridge Innovation Capital, IP Group plc and Seventure Partners.

SK Telecom, Korea’s leading ICT company, has upped its stake in Nasdaq-heading Nanox, a medical imaging technology company, with an additional $20 million equity investment, with eyes on possible opening in the telemedicine market in Korea.

With the investment, SK Telecom will become the second major shareholder in Israel-based company with exclusive business rights in Korea and Vietnam, the company said last weekend. The transaction follows an initial $3 million investment made by SK Telecom a year ago. Nanox is an Israeli company with proprietary technology that digitally converts filament-based analog X-ray imaging using a semiconductor nano approach.

Fuji Film, Foxconn and Yozma Group are also shareholders of Nanox, which is preparing to be listed on the Nasdaq.

SK Telecom plans to establish a digital X-ray production plant in Korea. A conventional X-ray system generates electrons by heating filaments made of copper and tungsten and then rotates them rapidly for imaging, but a digital X-ray system digitally controls silicon semiconductors to generate electrons and convert them to X-rays.

It is excellent in imaging quality and speed, and it is also advantageous in weight reduction since it does not require a cooling device. Most of all, the imaging cost is only a tenth that of an analog system, according to SK Telecom.

SK Telecom is considering the application of this digital X-ray technology to medical, security, and industrial services, involving its ICT affiliates such as SK Hynix, ADT Caps, and Invites Healthcare.

SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho said the two companies have a common philosophy of creating better social value with advanced technology, adding the combination between next-generation medical technology, 5G and artificial intelligence will lead to innovation in the post-COVID-19 world.

Online doctor consultation platform, DocsApp has merged with MediBuddy’s digital consumer health business. This coming together of DocsApp and MediBuddy, a leader in digital consumer health for enterprises, promises to create one of India’s largest and most comprehensive digital healthcare platform.

With digital health being the new normal, DocsApp and MediBuddy are now equipped to be at the forefront, to help millions of Indians to access high-quality healthcare. Combining their respective strengths, the joint entity is well-positioned to take a leadership position in enabling 24×7 access to healthcare. The platforms will continue to focus on enabling healthcare services like online specialist doctor consultations, lab tests, preventive health checks, delivery of medicines, and more to customers across India.

Together, the combined entity is servicing the healthcare needs of over 3 crore Indians, with a partner network of over 90,000 doctors, 7000 hospitals, 3000 diagnostic centers, and 2500 pharmacies covering over 95 percent of all pin codes in India.

Addressing a press conference to announce the partnership, Satish Kannan, CEO of the merged entity said, ‘This combined entity will offer a comprehensive platform to our customers that deliver on the promise of a digital healthcare future. As first-movers, we are confident that we will establish market leadership and fulfill our mission to provide quality healthcare to every Indian’.

Satish Gidugu, CEO, Medi Assist, added, ‘We are excited to join forces and set a bold new vision for the digital healthcare ecosystem in India. Combining the capabilities of DocsApp and MediBuddy will deliver an on-demand healthcare platform providing exceptional customer experience for both enterprise and retail users’.

The promise this healthcare platform shows is evident in investments being directed towards the same, even at a time when uncertainty and caution are prevalent worldwide.

CEO, Satish Kannan announced a $20 Million (150 Crore) Series B round of funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Fusian Capital, Mitsui Sumitomo (MSIVC) & Beyond Next ventures. Existing investors including Milliways Ventures and Rebright Partners also participated in this round.

The joint entity will utilise the funding to further strengthen its doctor base, patient reach, product, and technology to move a step closer to its mission of providing high-quality healthcare to a billion people.
Elaborating on this investment, Vishal Gupta, MD, Bessemer Venture Partners said, ‘As a result of its targeted solutions and exceptional metrics, DocsApp has achieved a leadership position. We are pleased to be a part of this growth journey and believe that the merger with MediBuddy is the boost it requires to provide quality healthcare to all. We will now be able to deliver services across the value chain and also have become the largest player in terms of the customer base’.?

Rakuten Medical, Inc. and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center announced a strategic alliance collaboration agreement to advance the development of new cancer therapies based on Rakuten Medical’s proprietary Illuminox™ technology platform.

Under the terms of the agreement, Rakuten Medical and MD Anderson will collaborate to conduct studies based on the Illuminox technology platform and to determine study designs, combination therapies, and target patient populations for future clinical trials. The alliance is designed to expand development of the technology and bring a novel therapeutic approach to patients with cancer, with an initial focus on those with head and neck cancers. This agreement expands upon an existing sponsored research agreement between Rakuten Medical and MD Anderson.

“We are honored that MD Anderson has recognized the exciting potential of our Illuminox technology by entering into this strategic alliance agreement,” said Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten Medical. We believe our collaboration will allow us to develop novel treatments for different cancer types. We are energized by MD Anderson’s shared optimism and conviction to bring treatments to patients in need.”

The Illuminox technology platform is based on a cancer therapy called photoimmunotherapy, developed by Dr. Hisataka Kobayashi and colleagues from the National Cancer Institute. Illuminox is a technology combining drugs and laser device systems being evaluated for the treatment of different cancers.

“The Illuminox technology represents a new form of therapy with the potential to selectively target cancer cells while sparing surrounding normal tissues through light-activatable antibody-dye conjugates,” said Jeffrey Myers, M.D., Ph.D., chair of Head and Neck Surgery at MD Anderson. “We are pleased to build upon our collaborative relationship with Rakuten Medical to work toward bringing investigational treatment options forward with the goal of providing the best options for our patients.”

About Rakuten Medical, Inc.

Rakuten Medical, Inc. is a global biotechnology company developing precision, cell-targeting investigational therapies on its Illuminox™ platform, which, in pre-clinical studies have shown to lead to rapid and selective cell killing and tumor necrosis. Illuminox therapies have not yet been approved as safe or effective by any regulatory authority. Rakuten Medical is committed to its mission to conquer cancer and aims to realize a society where cancer patients can lead fulfilling lives. Headquartered in the United States, Rakuten Medical has 6 locations in 5 countries, including Japan, the Netherlands, Germany and Taiwan.

About MD Anderson

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world’s most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. The institution’s sole mission is to end cancer for patients and their families around the world. MD Anderson is one of only 51 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). MD Anderson is ranked No.1 for cancer care in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals” survey. It has ranked as one of the nation’s top two hospitals for cancer care since the survey began in 1990 and has ranked first 15 times in the last 18 years. MD Anderson receives a cancer center support grant from the NCI of the National Institutes of Health (P30 CA016672).

About Illuminox

The Illuminox platform is an investigational platform based on a cancer therapy called photoimmunotherapy, which was developed by Dr. Hisataka Kobayashi and team from the National Cancer Institute in the United States. Rakuten Medical is developing the Illuminox platform as a technology consisting of a drug, device and other related components. The drug component of the platform consists of a targeting moiety conjugated with one or more dyes leading to selective cell surface binding. The device component consists of a light source that locally illuminates the targeted cells with non-thermal light to transiently activate the drug. Pre-clinical data have shown that this activation elicits rapid and selective necrosis of targeted cells through a biophysical process that compromises the membrane integrity of the targeted cells. Therapies developed on Illuminox may also result in local and systemic innate and adaptive immune activation due to immunogenic cell death of the targeted cells and/or the removal of immunosuppressive elements within the microenvironment. Illuminox therapies have not yet been approved as safe or effective by any regulatory authority.

Beacon Healthcare Systems announced the introduction of a new appeals and grievances product designed expressly for small to midsize health plans and other managed care organizations. Concurrently, Beacon announced that this new product—named “VAM Out of the Box”—will launch initially at HealthTeam Advantage, a North Carolina-based Medicare Advantage health plan.

Beacon is home to the healthcare industry’s leading compliance, appeals and risk management technologies. Among its core products is its Virtual Appeals Manager (VAM), the industry’s most intuitive and easy-to-use appeals and grievances tool. VAM is a highly configurable, automated solution that can be implemented in record time and provides unparalleled control and transparency of cases from intake to review while reducing a massive amount of health plan letters into a manageable and efficient core of templates. VAM has also been shown to improve star ratings, resulting in financial rewards from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to health plans.

“VAM Out of the Box” incorporates all of VAM’s best practice workflows, reporting and letters into an easy-to-implement, lower-cost solution ideally suited for the needs of small to medium-sized plans. Similar to its highly acclaimed VAM product, “VAM Out of the Box” was designed by health plan compliance and operational experts and meets all compliance and operational requirements.

“After seven years of working with plans of all sizes across the country, we are excited to launch this new product with HealthTeam Advantage who will make great partners in this effort,” said Beacon CEO Ken Stockman. “Together we’ll be able to leverage the best of what we’ve learned through the years in ways that help HealthTeam Advantage enhance their efficiencies and serve their members even better.”

HealthTeam Advantage is a health insurance company founded in 2016 in Greensboro, North Carolina. HTA offers Medicare Advantage plans to eligible Medicare beneficiaries in certain counties in North Carolina and is committed to the health and well-being of its members and communities. HTA offers medical and prescription drug benefits, dental, vision, hearing as well as personalized customer service.

“From the first time I saw the VAM product in action at a conference last year, I was in awe,” said Bethany Carter, director of operations, provider services and claims at HealthTeam Advantage. “When it came time for our organization to look for a platform to support our growing needs, Beacon immediately came to mind. When we saw the personal demonstration in January, we were hooked; and now that we are in the midst of implementation, we are beyond excited.”

Beacon Healthcare Systems is home to the healthcare industry’s leading compliance, appeals and risk management technologies, providing health plans of all sizes and sponsorships with customizable and scalable SaaS (Service as a Software) solutions that ensure accountability, accuracy and operational efficiency. With a focus on appeals, grievances, compliance and analytics, Beacon HCS is the first place health plans turn to when they are looking for a trusted, experienced partner who can help them reduce costs, grow revenue and achieve their strategic goals. Founded in 2011, Beacon HCS is a privately held California-based company with a technology center located in Austin, Texas.