SAN DIEGO, Calif., December 17, 2022 — Bloom Science, Inc. founder & CEO Christopher Reyes, PhD presents live at Biotech Showcase™ 2023 on Tuesday January 10 at 2:45 p.m. PT.
Biotech Showcase, produced by Demy-Colton and EBD Group, is an investor conference focused on driving advances in therapeutic development by providing a sophisticated networking platform for executives and investors that fosters investment and partnership opportunities. The conference takes place each year during the course of one of the industry’s largest gatherings and busiest weeks.
“We are delighted that Bloom Science will be joining us in San Francisco and presenting at Biotech Showcase this year,” said Sara Demy, CEO of Demy-Colton. “Biotech Showcase is a prime occasion for life science entrepreneurs and investors to come together to discover the potential of innovative technologies that will drive the future of drug discovery.”
ABOUT BLOOM SCIENCE Bloom Science is a clinical-stage biotechnology company on a mission to bring transformative live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) to underserved patients with rare or complex neurological diseases who have not adequately responded to existing therapies. Bloom is taking a fundamentally different path to developing medicines by harnessing our expanding insight into how the gut microbiome modulates key processes in the immune system, nervous system and brain. Bloom has developed a platform to investigate how changes in the gut microbiome influence brain biochemistry and immune system activity that it can leverage to develop multi-functional therapeutics addressing multi-pathway driven neurological disorders.
How a 100-year-old study spawned a novel class of multifunctional neurological treatments.
Read the latest on Bloom Science’s epilepsy and ALS lead programs and how a 100-year-old study spawned a novel class of multifunctional neurological treatments via our Nature Biopharma Dealmakers article.
Bloom Science is developing novel engineered and rationally selected microbiome-based treatments for neurological and inflammatory diseases with initial programs in Drug Resistant Epilepsy and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
San Diego based biotech company Bloom Science announced today it successfully closed a USD $12 Million Series A financing with a syndicate of life science investors led by Leaps by Bayer, the impact investment arm of Bayer AG, and the ALS Investment Fund. Additional investors include Apollo Health Ventures, as well as existing investor, Joyance Partners.
Bloom Science is developing innovative therapeutics for rare neurological diseases utilizing its novel drug discovery platform, IrisRx, that reverse translates clinical treatments to identify the compositional and functional microbiome building blocks. By focusing on the microbiome, the collection of trillions of bacteria that live in and on the human body, Bloom is pioneering microbiome-based therapies targeting the gut-immune-brain axis, an interconnected network comprised of microbes in the gastrointestinal tract, the host immune system, the central nervous system and the brain.
Bloom’s microbial drug candidates are rationally selected and engineered to target key underlying disease pathways disrupted by environmental, age-related and/or genetic factors. These therapeutics have the potential to provide patients with much needed therapeutic options for a broad spectrum of neurological and inflammatory diseases.
Bloom Science will use the Series A financing to advance its pipeline including lead program BL-001 being developed for orphan, drug-resistant epilepsies. The drug candidate consists of proprietary microbes necessary and sufficient to reproduce the clinical efficacy observed with the ketogenic diet, targeting neuronal hyperexcitation and changes in brain levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an amino acid that serves as the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter.
The Series A proceeds will further enable Bloom Science to accelerate the development of its therapeutic candidate for the treatment of ALS. The gut microbiome has been linked to severity of disease in ALS and represents a novel and promising potential target for treatment and disease modification. Bloom is also applying its IrisRx platform towards advancing discovery programs in neurodegeneration, dementia and inflammation.
“Bloom Science was born out of a vision to harness the gut-immune-brain axis and exponentially expand the landscape of available therapies for patients with severe or untreatable neurological and inflammatory conditions,” said Christopher Reyes, PhD, CEO and Founder of Bloom Science, “This investment by our preeminent global syndicate fuels the further development of Bloom’s pipeline and represents a significant opportunity to ally with like-minded investors who share our ambitious goals.”
“Leaps by Bayer aims to break through the impossible – creating curative innovations that have the potential to change life on earth for the better,” said Juergen Eckhardt, MD, Head of Leaps by Bayer. “To protect brain and mind is one of the big goals Leaps by Bayer is trying to solve as part of our overall mission. We believe Bloom Science’s unique approach to leverage the gut-immune-brain axis for novel microbiota therapies will enable us to achieve this mandate and therefore improve the lives of many patients.”
“We are excited to support Bloom Science in their mission to develop rationally selected microbiome-based therapies for diseases with high unmet need, including ALS. We look forward to working with the Bloom Science team to advance their promising and novel approach,” said Felix Von Coerper, managing partner of ALS Investment Fund.
The investment will enable Bloom to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for BL-001 in refractory epilepsy and advance into Phase I clinical trials, as well as further expand development of its platform and advance its research and talent acquisition.
About Bloom Science
Bloom Science is a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing live biotherapeutics to treat unmet neurological and inflammatory diseases. Our team of scientists, data-geeks and never-say-die entrepreneurs are rethinking how medicines are developed by taking advantage of our expanding insight into the role our gut microbiome plays in modulating key processes in the brain and immune system. For more information, please visit the Bloom Science website at https://www.bloomscience.com/
About ALS Investment Fund
The ALS Investment Fund supports and finances biotech companies developing drugs for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). We invest globally but focus on Europe and the US. Being a disease-specific VC fund, we bring in-depth knowledge and a deep network in the space. The portfolio companies we invest in are diversified, with multiple therapies and/or active programs in other, often larger, disease indications, typically in the area of neuro-degeneration. More information is available at www.alsinvestmentfund.com
About Apollo Health Ventures
Apollo Health Ventures is a transatlantic venture capital firm and company builder
specialized in developing and investing in biotechnology and health tech ventures targeting the biology of aging to treat and prevent chronic age-related diseases. Apollo’s team consists of entrepreneurs, seasoned biotech investors and scientists with remarkable track records in life science investments and venture creation. https://www.apollo.vc/
About Joyance Partners:
Joyance Partners is a $20M venture capital fund focused on emerging technologies that can help individuals feel happier, healthier, calmer, more confident, and less anxious or subject to pain. Joyance Partners is directed by Managing Partner Mike Edelhart and Founding Partner William Lohse, who also oversee the Social Starts venture capital partnership funds. Learn more about at https://www.joyancepartners.com/
Bloom Science, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of medicines tailored for individual patients living with neurological diseases, has received a $500,000 grant from The ALS Association. Bloom is leveraging its GOLD platform (Genetically Optimized Living Drugs) in combination with strong pre-clinical data to advance a new generation of therapeutics aimed at managing microbiota, or the spectrum of bacteria that naturally populate the human gut. This grant is made available from the Association’s Lawrence and Isabelle Barnett Drug Development Program.
“What BL-001 attempts to do is to modify the microorganisms in the stomach to restore the GABA and glutamate levels that are disrupted in the brains of people living with ALS,” said Kuldip Dave, Ph.D., vice president of research at The ALS Association. “It’s a fascinating approach to using the body’s own protective bacteria to reset dysfunctional neurotransmitters that lead to loss of motor control.”
“We are witnessing incredible innovation in the field of microbiota-based therapeutics and research,” said Bloom’s CEO Christopher Reyes, PhD. “Disrupted neurochemical homeostasis has been hypothesized to contribute significantly to a cascade of effects leading to neuronal death in ALS. Bloom’s lead program BL-001 represents a novel therapeutic opportunity; we have demonstrated in animal models an increase endogenous GABA levels to restore a balance in the homeostatic levels of glutamate and GABA. We are grateful to the ALS Association and the ALS community for their support to accelerate our efforts to realize a novel therapy for people living with this disease.”
About The ALS Association The ALS Association is the only national non-profit organization fighting ALS on every front. By leading the way in global research, providing assistance for people with ALS through a nationwide network of chapters, coordinating multidisciplinary care through certified clinical care centers, and fostering government partnerships, The ALS Association builds hope and enhances quality of life while aggressively searching for new treatments and a cure. For more information about The ALS Association, visit their website at www.alsa.org.
About Bloom Science
Bloom Science, a private company, is developing transformational medicines that target diseases in neurology and oncology. Our discovery platform starts with positive clinical outcomes that elucidates novel connections between confirmed clinical outcomes, the microbiome, and critical disease pathways, to accelerate drug discovery and deliver meaningful solutions to patients in a timely manner. www.bloomscience.com
Study published in Cell demonstrates causal link between seizure susceptibility and the microbiome, identifies gut bacteria that confer anti-seizure effects
Bloom Science, a biotechnology company accelerating the development of a new class of neuroprotective medicines, today announced that it has secured an exclusive technology license from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) around preclinical research demonstrating that gut bacteria play a critical role in the anti-seizure effects of the ketogenic diet. The research was published today in the peer-reviewed journal Cell in an article titled “The gut microbiota mediates the anti-seizure effects of the ketogenic diet in mouse models of refractory epilepsy.”
The ketogenic diet, developed in the 1920s to treat epilepsy, has been proven to manage seizures in rare types of epilepsy and in patients who don’t respond to other forms of treatment, but compliance with the low-carb/high-fat diet is extremely challenging. New technologies to interrogate the relationship between the gut microbiome and the brain now explain why it works.
Senior author, Elaine Hsiao, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, led the research that showed in two preclinical mouse models that certain bacteria in the gut are elevated by the ketogenic diet, and those specific strains of bacteria are both necessary and sufficient to confer seizure protection. The bacteria work together to regulate circulating metabolites that fuel neurotransmitters in the brain, specifically gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter that is responsible for counterbalancing the excitation of neurons by glutamate. Bloom Science is developing proprietary products from these microbes that aim to modulate GABA, thereby re-establishing the delicate balance of GABA and glutamate and delivering a neuroprotective effect for patients with epilepsy. Bloom Science has entered into an exclusive license agreement around the technology with the UCLA Technology Development Group on behalf of UC Regents.
“In spite of the introduction of 20 new anti-epilepsy drugs in recent decades, a third of patients with epilepsy never achieve seizure control, and half of those who respond to treatment report negative side effects that limit compliance and negatively impact their quality of life,” said Mr. Colasin. “There is clearly a significant need for new and better approaches to managing epilepsy. At Bloom we are addressing that need by hacking the ketogenic diet to identify microbes with therapeutic potential, and then leveraging a unique business model to develop those microbes as neuroprotective therapies for orphan epilepsy indications in an accelerated time frame.”
There are more than 65 million people globally suffering with epilepsy. Uncontrolled epilepsy can lead to poor outcomes for patients, including problems with memory and cognition, depression, anxiety or development issues, as well as risk of sudden death.
“Our bodies are comprised of nearly ten times more microbial cells than human cells, so it’s not at all surprising that the bacteria in the microbiome play a significant role in modulating the neurochemicals in our brain and maintaining brain health,” said Dr. Hsiao, a co-founder of Bloom Science. “The potential of this discovery to impact human health is high, as GABA has been implicated in a broad range of neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, autism, anxiety and schizophrenia, all conditions which have also been shown to be modified by the ketogenic diet.”
Chris Reyes, Ph.D. who co-founded the company with Dr. Hsiao and Mr. Colasin added, “The ketogenic diet provides a clear roadmap for the orphan epilepsy syndromes that we will pursue. Our hope is to deliver safe, well-tolerated neuromodulatory treatment approaches to patients who otherwise have few options for controlling their seizures.”
Bloom Science has closed a seed round with industry insiders to initiate operations and has plans for R&D activities up through filing an investigational new drug (IND) application for its live biotherapeutic product (LBP) with the U.S. FDA. In parallel with its therapeutic development activities, Bloom is also developing a medical food that leverages GRAS (generally regarded as safe) designation to establish safety, enabling the company to transition directly into a proof-of-concept trial in patients.
About Bloom Science
Bloom Science is a biotechnology company creating a new class of neuroprotective medicines that seek to replicate the benefits of the ketogenic diet to improve quality of life for people with epilepsy and other neurological conditions.
