Today, Rebiotix and Ferring Pharmaceuticals announced positive preliminary findings from their ongoing pivotal Phase 3 trial of the investigational microbiome-based treatment, RBX2660. These preliminary positive efficacy findings mark an important milestone, advancing RBX2660 in its clinical development program with a goal of bringing a US FDA approved therapy to patients. The clinical development program for RBX2660 is the most advanced in the world in evaluating the safety and efficacy of a standardized, non-antibiotic microbiome-based therapy.
RBX2660 is being developed to reduce C. diff infection recurrences, an urgent unmet need for patients and healthcare providers worldwide. Antibiotics, the current standard of care, have been shown to disrupt the microbiome and increase the risk of C. diff recurrence.3 C. diff causes nearly 30,000 deaths each year in the US; in Europe, the incidence of C. diff is increasing, with recurrent bouts of infection representing 10-15% of all healthcare-related infections in hospitals annually.4, 5 As a live biotherapeutic, aiming to help restore the gut microbiome community, RBX2660 may bring an innovative therapeutic option to patients suffering from this potentially deadly infection.
“C. diff infection is a significant public health threat that has limited treatment options. These positive preliminary findings represent a major step forward towards bringing an innovative, non-antibiotic option to patients that may help restore their gut microbiome,”
said Per Falk, Ferring’s President and Chief Science Officer.
“With health systems under increasing pressure due to viruses like COVID-19 and the rising threat of antimicrobial resistance, the need for new therapies is greater than ever. We believe the power of the microbiome has great potential and we look forward to bringing RBX2660 to patients soon.”
“Since founding Rebiotix in 2011, our mission has been to harness the power of the microbiome to treat complex diseases. Our first goal was to address C. diff, which poses a significant health threat to thousands worldwide every year,”
said Lee Jones, CEO and founder of Rebiotix, a Ferring company.
“The positive preliminary data on the primary efficacy endpoint are a major stepping stone for the RBX2660 development program, bringing us closer to an approved microbiome therapy available for healthcare providers to help patients. As a first-in-class, potentially paradigm-changing technology, we look forward to discussing our final data with the FDA in the latter part of this year.”
The ongoing Phase 3 trial is a randomized, multicenter, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. The trial also incorporates a safety assessment intended to follow patients for several months after receiving the investigational drug. The safety data will provide insight into the potential of using microbes as a therapeutic intervention. The full data package is anticipated in the second half of 2020.
This trial builds on nearly a decade of research and evaluation of the formulation, with robust clinical and microbiome data collected over multiple controlled trials under the proprietary MRT™ drug platform.