Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Department of Defense and CARB-X Back Further Development of Spirulina-Based Therapeutics

Seattle, WA, January 4, 2023 – Lumen Bioscience, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing biologic drugs for highly prevalent diseases, today announced several funding milestones supporting the development of its therapeutics to prevent serious diarrheal diseases.

The first is a $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a second Phase 2 study of an improved anti-campylobacter therapeutic, LMN-101. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study will evaluate LMN-101 at several dose levels in healthy volunteers challenged with Campylobacter jejuni CG8421. The trial design is similar to the first Phase 2 trial of LMN-101 but with enhancements to shed light on the unexpectedly low placebo attack rate that made that earlier trial uninterpretable.

The second milestone is a new $4 million award from the US Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), operating through the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC), for further clinical evaluation of Lumen’s anti-campylobacter/anti-ETEC VHH cocktail product. Building on foundational work at Lumen that was originally funded by Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X), the new funds will support clinical evaluation of a tablet form of the product, which is expected to have favorable cost and distribution characteristics compared with the capsule format tested in past trials. The grant will also be used to further characterize the product’s gastrointestinal pharmacokinetics in study volunteers.

Finally, Lumen is pleased to announce that CARB-X has also renewed its funding support with an additional award of up to $2.8 million for lead optimization of an anti-campylobacter/anti-ETEC VHH cocktail to prevent serious diarrheal diseases.

“Lumen Bioscience is dedicated to developing innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing healthcare challenges. In addition to making life miserable for travelers and deployed servicemen and women, diarrheal infections are a major cause of infant mortality and morbidity in the developing world. The new funding from the Gates Foundation, USAMRDC, and CARB-X will help advance the company’s work in these areas, and we are grateful for their support,” said Brian Finrow, CEO of Lumen Bioscience.

“Overall, these developments represent major progress for Lumen, and we are excited to continue our work in these areas,” said Jim Roberts, Lumen’s Chief Scientific Officer. “We look forward to sharing the results of these studies with the scientific community and the public as the program progresses.”

About MTEC
The Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) is a 501(c)(3) biomedical technology consortium collaborating under an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) that serves those who serve our nation. The Lumen program was funded under MTEC solicitation MTEC-20-09-COVID-19_Treatment_MIDRP and is funded by the USAMRDC. For more information, visit: www.mtec-sc.org.

About CARB-X
CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) is a global non-profit partnership dedicated to supporting early-stage antibacterial research and development to address the rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria. CARB-X supports innovative therapeutics, preventatives and rapid diagnostics. CARB-X is led by Boston University and funded by a consortium of governments and foundations. CARB-X funds only projects that target drug-resistant bacteria highlighted on the CDC’s Antibiotic Resistant Threats list, or the Priority Bacterial Pathogens list published by the WHO, with a priority on those pathogens deemed Serious or Urgent on the CDC list or Critical or High on the WHO list. https://carb-x.org/ | Twitter @CARB_X

About Lumen
Lumen Bioscience discovers, develops, and manufactures biologic drug candidates for highly prevalent diseases—many of which currently lack effective treatments. The company’s unique drug development and manufacturing platform offers the potential to transform the biologics industry through increased speed, mass-market scale, and exponentially lower costs than current approaches. Lumen’s clinical pipeline includes investigational biologic drugs for C. difficile infection, inflammatory bowel disease, Covid-19, cardiometabolic disease, norovirus, and traveler’s diarrhea. For more information, visit: www.lumen.bio. You can also follow Lumen on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and subscribe to ours newsletter, iLumenate.

Acknowledgement and disclaimer:

Research reported in this press release is supported by CARB-X. CARB-X’s funding for this project is provided in part with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority; under agreement number: 75A50122C00028, and by awards from Wellcome (WT224842), the UK Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) funded by the UK Government Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The content of this press release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of CARB-X or any of its funders.

Group 14
Lumen Bioscience
January 04, 2023