Recent Developments in Microbiome Therapeutics Recent-Developments-in-Microbiome-Therapeutics-Nov | Page 5

Crestovo 9 aims to use its proprietary Full-Spectrum Microbiota (FSM) platform to develop orally administered
bacterial compositions for treating a variety of diseases. Although the company’s primary product is targeted
against Clostridium difficile infections (elaborated in a later section), it is also showing interest in treating mental
health diseases. A group of Arizona State University researchers, funded by Crestovo, have recently concluded a
small open-label clinical trial 10 evaluating the impact of Microbiota Transfer Therapy (MTT) on gut microbiota
composition and gastro-intestinal and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) symptoms of 18 ASD-diagnosed children.
The results revealed an 80% reduction of gastro-intestinal symptoms at the end of treatment, including significant
improvements in symptoms of constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, and abdominal pain. It was also observed that
behavioral ASD symptoms improved significantly and remained improved 8 weeks after treatment ended.
In a 2016 study 11 on mice, conducted by a research group from the Baylor School of Medicine, it was concluded
that adding the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri to the diet of patients suffering from neurodevelopmental disorders
including ASD, could improve social behavior by enhancing oxytocin levels.
A relatively new company working in the field of microbiome therapy for mental health disorders is HoloBiome 12 .
It is focused on developing a consortium of neurotransmitter-modulating human gut bacteria, with potential
applications beyond mental health. In March 2017, HoloBiome was awarded a Golden Ticket sponsorship by
Amgen for using free lab space provided by LabCentral for one year 13 .
Oral Care
One of the most common oral diseases, caused by a dysbiosis between acidogenic pathogens and alkali-generating
commensal bacteria colonized in the oral cavity, is dental caries. In a small clinical trial 14 conducted by Sichuan
University researchers, it was found that treatment with arginine-containing dentifrice normalized the oral
microbiota of patients affected by dental caries.
One company working in the domain of microbiome therapeutics for oral health is C3J Therapeutics 15 . C3J’s
proprietary Specifically Targeted Antimicrobial Peptides (STAMP) Platform technology allows the antimicrobial
peptides to selectively kill pathogenic bacteria. The company’s C16G2 STAMP program has been developed to
9 
https://www.crestovo.com/
10 Kang D. W. et al (2017), Microbiota Transfer Therapy alters gut ecosystem and improves gastrointestinal and autism
symptoms: an open-label study. Microbiome, 5(1):10. doi: 10.1186/s40168-016-0225-7
11 Buffington S. A. et al (2016), Microbial Reconstitution Reverses Maternal Diet-Induced Social and Synaptic Deficits in
Offspring. Cell, 165(7): 1762-1775. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.06.001
12 
https://holobiome.org/
13  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amgen-awards-three-golden-tickets-for-labcentral-residency-300430168.
html
14 Zheng X. et al (2017). Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 7206. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-07042-w
15  http://www.c3jtherapeutics.com/
5
Recent Developments in Microbiome Therapeutics