Two Japanese universities sign a licensing agreement with immunology and microbiology company Vedanta to discover potential treatments for infectious diseases and cancer.
Vedanta Biosciences, a US-based immunology and microbiology company, has signed a licensing agreement with three Japan-based organisations including Tokyo University and Azabu University.
Private research institution Riken also signed the agreement, which pertains to technology with potential clinical applications for infectious diseases, vaccine design and immuno-oncology.
The focus of the agreement will be the investigation of pharmaceutical candidates involving bacterial strains that can activate immune cells in the human gut. These immune cells help protect the body against infectious pathogens and could also help in the treatment of cancer.
Bernat Olle, chief executive officer of Vedanta, said: “This new technology, coupled with our proprietary platform, broadens Vedanta’s ability to develop immunotherapies based on bacterial strains derived from the gut microbiota.
“We previously demonstrated we can develop therapies to potentially calm overactive immune responses. This technology enables us to do the opposite – to harness bacteria to potentially activate immune cells when needed.”
