MRM Health reports positive topline results from clinical study with MH002
February 12, 2025
Health Lifestyle

MRM Health reports positive topline results from a clinical study with MH002

MRM Health NV, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing next-generation live microbiome consortia therapeutics, has reported positive topline results from its Phase 2a clinical trial with MH002 in mild-to-moderate Ulcerative Colitis (UC).

MRM Health’s MH002-UC-201 study was a multi-centre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 45 UC patients at multiple clinical sites in Belgium, Poland and the Czech Republic.

The study was designed to evaluate the safety (primary endpoint), initial efficacy and mechanistic effects of MH002 over eight weeks, with a further eight-week extension period.

The primary endpoint was met with an excellent safety profile and tolerance at a fixed dose of 400mg daily over 16 weeks of administration.

Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events (TEAE) were reported in 35% of patients allocated to MH002 treatment compared to 57% when treated with a placebo, and there was no evidence of adverse reactions related to MH002.

Initial efficacy on disease activity was evidenced in clinically relevant parameters, including a 12% improvement in Mayo Endoscopic Severity (MES) score (p=0.05, 1-sided Wilcoxon rank sum test), while placebo worsened by 5%.

Stool consistency significantly improved in the MH002 treatment group from week 2 (p=0.006; 1-sided Student t-test).

At the end of the eight weeks, 18% of subjects achieved clinical remission compared to 0% of the placebo group (Per-protocol analysis). Unlike previous trials with other live biotherapeutics in UC, this study was performed successfully without vancomycin preconditioning.

At a mechanistic level, an anti-inflammatory effect was demonstrated with a 42% decrease in median faecal calprotectin (a clinically relevant bowel inflammation marker) compared to 18% in placebo at week 8.

“These early results indicate that MH002 is safe and well tolerated by patients and has potential efficacy in mild-to-moderate UC patients who have not responded sufficiently to first-line treatment,” commented Séverine Vermeire, coordinating investigator of study MH002-UC-201 and Professor of Medicine at the KU Leuven, Belgium. 

“There is a significant absence of treatments for UC patients, particularly in this population, so I look forward to conducting the full analysis of the data and following MH002’s progression through the clinic.”

Bruce Sands, Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York and paid consultant to MRM Health, added: “MH002’s mechanism of action and anti-inflammatory effect in UC look very promising, with the potential of a highly favourable benefit/risk balance, pending larger confirmatory studies.

“These topline results also suggest that this formulation could have applications across a wider range of other inflammatory bowel disorders, including pouchitis, in which MH002 is also being tested.”

Full analysis and presentation of the data is expected by the end of 2023.

The company has initiated the progress the programme into Phase 2/3 development.

Ludo Haazen, Chief Medical Officer at MRM Health, added: “This first clinical study enables us to move forward with our clinical programme in UC. We are excited to see that MH002 differentiated in this early study significantly and consistently from placebo in clinically relevant parameters, including the centrally assessed MES, which was supported by the mechanistic parameters we have measured.”

MH002 is currently the most advanced rationally designed consortium therapy in the UC field. It was developed through MRM Health’s proprietary CORAL technology. It comprises six well-characterised commensal strains selected and optimised to tackle key disease-driving mechanisms with enhanced potency, resiliency, and engraftment.

Production is via MRM Health’s breakthrough scalable and standardised cGMP manufacturing platform, allowing the manufacturing of complete consortia as a single drug substance.

The ability of CORAL to enable scalable, cost-effective manufacturing of complete optimised consortia in a single process is expected to provide both critical regulatory and patient compliance advantages.

In addition to the recently completed UC trial, MH002 is being tested in an ongoing multi-centre, open-label Phase 2 study enrolling patients with acute Pouchitis, a rare disease with high unmet medical need.

Sam Possemiers, Chief Executive Officer at MRM Health, said: “These early clinical data are essential for the company since they further validate our proprietary CORAL technology, which underlies our portfolio of live biotherapeutic products. The data enables us to take the next steps in our business strategy, where we will be engaging with regulatory agencies in all territories and potential new partners and driving forward the rest of our development portfolio.”

Last Updated on 1 year by News Desk 1

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