The kick-off meeting of the Eurostars-funded PROMISE project, a collaboration between Caelus Health and BaseClear from The Netherlands, ProDigest from Belgium and IBBL from Luxemburg, was held on the 7th of May. The aim of the project is to propel clinical research and treatment of Metabolic Syndrome forward and develop a novel, microbiota-based treatment that could slow down or even prevent the development of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
Through Fecal Microbiota Transplantation, Caelus Health has identified a bacterium, Eubacterium hallii, that is able to increase insulin sensitivity in people that have been diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome. One of the objectives of the project is to further elucidate the mode of action. At ProDigest, innovative in vitro methods are being developed that will support the study of the influence of E. hallii on the gut microbiota.
The programme will include the development of surrogate biomarkers for reliable (early) diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome. The identification and validation of these biomarkers will be performed by IBBL. The expectation is that these biomarkers can in future also be used for clinical research and possibly serve as an alternative for the burdensome clamping techniques that are currently still the gold standard for measuring insulin production and resistance.
The Dutch company BaseClear will assist in developing innovative methods for performing clinical research, which include both logistics and patient selection. The final part of the project entails a clinical study that will integrate all the individual aspects of the R&D project. This approach is primarily aimed at improving treatment of Metabolic Syndrome, but will also provide methods to facilitate clinical research in other conditions that involve the microbiota.