A new MRM Health R&D partnership in immunotherapy points to broader clinical and investment upside.
Belgian microbiome company MRM Health has taken another step toward broadening the clinical and commercial case for microbiome-based therapeutics, announcing a new R&D collaboration in cancer immunotherapy just months after closing a €55m (US$64m) Series B financing round.
The Ghent-based biotech revealed it has entered into a strategic partnership with the research group of Professor Emile Voest, Senior Group Leader at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) and Senior Investigator at the Oncode Institute.
While the immediate focus is on improving cancer immunotherapy, the collaboration underscores a growing belief across the sector: the microbiome may be a platform technology with applications well beyond oncology.
Through the partnership, MRM Health aims to accelerate the development of live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) designed to enhance the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), a class of drugs that has transformed cancer care but remains limited for many patients.
ICIs work by removing the “brakes” on the immune system, allowing it to attack cancer cells more effectively. However, a significant proportion of patients do not respond, lose response over time, or experience serious immune-related side effects. Researchers are increasingly pointing to the gut microbiome as a key factor influencing both treatment response and safety.
“We are entering a new era where the microbiome will become a key driver of immunotherapy success,” said Sam Possemiers, CEO of MRM Health.
By combining the company’s rational microbiome design platform with the deep oncology and immunology expertise of Professor Emile Voest and the team at the NKI, MRM Health aims “to accelerate the creation of next-generation therapies that increase response rates to immune checkpoint inhibitors, meaningfully improving patient outcomes across multiple cancer types.”
The collaboration will integrate MRM Health’s microbiome engineering capabilities with NKI’s strengths in translational oncology, real-world clinical data and immune profiling, to accelerate the translation of biological insights into therapeutic development.
A growing body of evidence suggests that the composition and function of gut bacteria can shape patients’ responses to immunotherapy. Specific microbial profiles have been associated with better outcomes, while dysbiosis – an imbalance often triggered by antibiotics or other treatments – has been linked to poorer survival.
Early clinical and preclinical studies indicate that targeted modulation of the microbiome could help overcome resistance to ICIs and reduce immune-related adverse events. Rather than acting directly on tumors, microbiome-based therapies aim to influence immune and metabolic pathways that determine the body’s response to cancer treatment.
“Our research has demonstrated the critical role of the gut microbiome and its metabolites in shaping responses to immunotherapy,” noted Voest. “By partnering with MRM Health, which is at the forefront of this technology, our insights can be turned into innovative therapeutic strategies aimed at overcoming resistance and unlocking the full potential of ICI treatments.”
At the center of MRM Health’s strategy is its proprietary CORAL platform, which uses bioinformatics and systems biology to design optimized bacterial consortia, carefully selected combinations of microbes rather than single strains.
The platform is designed to restore a dysbiotic microbiome while modulating immune and metabolic pathways relevant to disease. A key differentiator is its manufacturing approach, which produces the entire consortium as a single drug substance, supporting scalability and consistency – two long-standing challenges in the microbiome field.
Through the NKI partnership, MRM Health expects to gain access to advanced microbiome datasets, immune cell profiling, and detailed patient disease characteristics, feeding back into its internal immune-oncology programs.
While cancer immunotherapy is the headline application, investors are watching closely for signals that microbiome platforms like CORAL can be leveraged across multiple disease areas.
MRM Health’s lead candidate, MH002, is already in Phase IIb development for ulcerative colitis and pouchitis, highlighting the company’s roots in inflammatory diseases. Its pipeline also includes preclinical programs targeting other inflammatory conditions, in addition to immune-oncology.
This cross-indication potential is increasingly attractive in an investment environment that favors platform technologies over single-asset stories. Success in oncology, arguably one of the most demanding therapeutic areas, could further validate the microbiome as a versatile modality.
“Our collaboration with MRM Health exemplifies Oncode Institute’s mission to turn important academic discoveries into tangible patient and economic benefits,” said Bertholt Leeftink, Managing Director of Oncode Institute.
“This public–private collaboration underscores that world-class research and a strong, innovative biotech industry are essential to delivering new and more effective treatments for patients, while also creating new business opportunities,” he added.
For MRM Health, the partnership signals both scientific ambition and strategic positioning. By anchoring its microbiome platform in cancer immunotherapy while maintaining momentum in inflammatory diseases, the company is making a broader bet: that the microbiome’s role in human health is only beginning to be translated into scalable, investable therapeutics.
