“Both companies in this partnership are putting all they have into building a strong synergy and a close dialog, just like the community of bacteria that live in our microbiome!” says Maat Pharma’s Chief Technology Officer Carole Schwintner, using an eloquent scientific metaphor to illustrate the partnership between MaaT Pharma and Skyepharma.
Established in late 2014, the Lyon-based biotech firm develops therapeutic solutions for intestinal dysbiosis, an imbalance in the gut flora. Its two most advanced drug candidates aim to restore the gut microbiome and improve cancer survival outcomes through the administration of highly diverse microbial therapies.
As for Skyepharma, it specializes in formulating and manufacturing complex and controlled-release drugs. Thanks to its innovative model SkyeHub, the French CDMO (Contract Development & Manufacturing Organization) now has cGMP bioproduction capacities.
Skyepharma plans to allocate 1,500 m2 to MaaT Pharma (which could eventually be doubled). Located within Skyepharma’s manufacturing facility, the purpose of this dedicated building will be to produce up to several thousand units of MaaT013 (liquid formulation) annually to treat graft-versus-host disease, as well as several hundred thousand capsules of its second product, MaaT033, designed to improve survival outcomes in patients receiving allogeneic stem cell transplantation. It will also accelerate R&D and the clinical development of next-generation products (MaaT03x).
“This long-term partnership will create a solid foundation for MaaT Pharma’s future activities. As a result, we will be able to offer patients a new generation of products and promising survival rates,” says Carole Schwintner, Chief Technology Officer at MaaT Pharma.
Skyepharma will contribute its industrial know-how and its expert knowledge of product quality standards, regulatory frameworks, certification, and large-scale production.
This production plant will be the biggest microbiome-based biotherapeutics facility in France. MaaT Pharma will be the first resident company of Skyepharma’s SkyeHub Bioproduction.
Skyepharma intends to allocate a total of 20,000 m2 to the Hub at its 60,000 m2 site in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier near Lyon. Other biotech companies will eventually join MaaT Pharma, all united around a clear goal: “To increase cGMP production capacities in France for microbiome-based drugs,” explains Skyepharma President David Lescuyer.