Seres is selling their microbiota product to Nestlé and expects to make a smooth transition as they already have an existing partnership.
Image Credit: Nestle
Nestlé Health Science will obtain full ownership of live-brpk (Vowst, formerly SER-109), the oral microbiome therapy, from Seres Therapeutics. Seres says it will support the full transition of the product to Nestlé Health Science and continuity of the supply chain through a customary transition service agreement.1
“We are proud of our success in bringing Vowst to patients as the first ever FDA-approved oral microbiome therapy, and following the anticipated transaction close, we will continue to work with Nestlé Health Science and our other partners to ensure a seamless transition and ongoing product availability,” said Seres CEO Eric Shaff.1
In July 2021, Seres entered a license agreement with Nestlé Health Science that granted a co-exclusive license to develop and commercialize Vowst. In April 2023, the microbiome product was granted an FDA approval to prevent the recurrence of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in adults following antibacterial treatment for recurrent CDI (rCDI), followed by commercial launch in June 2023 led by Nestlé Health Science.1
Continued Efficacy and Safety
In a recent interview with Contagion, Dianne Nguyen, MD, head of Medical Affairs at Nestlé Health Science, offered further insights on the product’s continued efficacy and safety, especially in seniors—a population that is often afflicted with rCDI.
“In terms of efficacy, efficacy outcomes at Week 8 in patients aged 65 years and older were consistent with those in the overall population. At Weeks 8 and 24, 90.5% and 84.8% of patients in the overall population, respectively, were recurrence-free,” Nguyen said.2
“In patients aged 65 and older, no clinically important differences in the safety profile of VOS were observed compared to the overall patient population,” Nguyen said. “Through Week 24 of the study, 63% of patients (221 patients) experienced treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) that were mostly mild to moderate and gastrointestinal. The study found no serious TEAEs or deaths related to VOS, according to investigators, and no study withdrawals were due to TEAEs.”2
Nestlé Health Science is acquiring full ownership of Vowst, an FDA-approved oral microbiome therapy developed by Seres Therapeutics.
Clinical data highlights that Vowst is effective in preventing CDI recurrences, showing high efficacy rates at both 8 and 24 weeks post-treatment.
Following the sale, Seres Therapeutics plans to concentrate on advancing its other investigational therapies, such as SER-155 and other microbiome therapeutic candidates.
Moving Forward
With this sale, Seres expects to focus on another of its investigational therapies. “These actions enable the company to enter an exciting next phase as we move SER-155 and other wholly-owned cultivated microbiome therapeutic candidates forward to important milestones and we look forward to discussing these programs in greater detail later this year,” Shaff said.1
For Nestle, they sees the acquirement of Vowst as a valued addition to their gastrointestinal portfolio. “With the Nestlé Health Science portfolio focused on nutritional science, our pharma business specializes on medical conditions that are specifically related to gastrointestinal disorders,” said Moreno Perugini, president of Medical Nutrition and Pharma, Nestlé Health Science. “Vowst fits within our expertise and fills a significant unmet need in the market; we are confident that sales will continue to grow and that many more patients will benefit from it.”3
