MicroBiome’s diabetes drug shows promise

BROOMFIELD – A research drug that can help people with Type 2 diabetes control their blood glucose levels did well in a recent clinical trial, according to MicroBiome Therapeutics LLC, the company that’s developing the drug.

Broomfield-based MicroBiome reported that the research drug called NM504 kept blood glucose levels within normal limits for patients involved in a four-week clinical trial. The research drug works by shifting a diabetic or pre-diabetic person’s gut bacteria to make it behave more like a healthy person’s gut bacteria, said Barbara Lindheim, a company spokeswoman.

Studies have shown that Type 2 diabetics typically have microbial imbalances in the gastrointestinal tract, which may contribute to the metabolic dysfunction associated with the condition.

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Microbiomes are micro-organisms in the human body. Microbiome’s research indicates that the organisms are believed to have an effect on auto-immune diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, muscular dystrophy and possibly some cancers.

MicroBiome wants to raise $8 million to develop the research drug, now that initial clinical results were positive, said Steve Orndorff, chief executive of the company. Research drugs must go through years of testing required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before they can be approved for commercial sale.

The recent clinical trial on diabetes patients is one of the first of a microbiome-based therapy to achieve a statistically significant medical outcome, Orndorff said.

MicroBiome representatives in December said the company had raised $1.3 million to support clinical studies for the research drug NM504. Current investor BVM Capital, an investment firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, led the funding round.

In addition to its Broomfield headquarters, MicroBiome Therapeutics has a research office in New Orleans.