Osel Obtains Exclusive License from Danish Research Consortia for IP Related to Osel’s LACTIN-V in Women Undergoing In-Vitro Fertilization

-- LACTIN-V, a live biotherapeutic product, previously demonstrated clinical efficacy in reducing bacterial vaginosis recurrence --

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Osel, Inc., a company developing live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) for diseases linked to the disruption of the human microbiome, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with a consortia comprising Aarhus University, Skive Hospital and Statens Serum Institut of Denmark, and obtained the exclusive worldwide license to inventions resulting from an investigator-initiated Phase 2 trial of Osel’s investigational LBP, LACTIN-V, in women undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Financial terms were not disclosed.

Osel is developing LACTIN-V, a proprietary formulation of Lactobacillus crispatus being studied in IVF, in addition to bacterial vaginosis (BV) and pre-term birth. Last year, Osel and colleagues published data in The New England Journal of Medicine demonstrating that LACTIN-V significantly reduced the recurrence of BV versus placebo in a Phase 2b trial.

“Dysbiosis, or disruption of the vaginal microbiome, can lead to many problems in women’s health including BV and decreasing the success rate of IVF,” said Peter P. Lee, MD, Founder and Executive Chairman of Osel. “LACTIN-V, which contains the protective vaginal bacterial strain L. crispatus CTV-05, could help promote a healthier vaginal microbiome for IVF.”

Under the agreement, the ongoing Phase 2 IVF trial is being conducted at four fertility clinics in Denmark and led by Professor Peter Humaidan, MD, Aarhus University and Skive Regional Hospital. The primary endpoint of the trial is clinical pregnancy at seven weeks post-embryo transfer in women with documented abnormal vaginal microbiota, which lowers the probability of successful IVF.

“The vaginal microbiome and its importance for fertility is an intriguing new field of research. In the near future we hope to be able to define the most optimal vaginal microbiome – and importantly, to be able to modify the abnormal to normal,” said Professor Humaidan. “The ultimate goal of our research is to improve success rates of not only IVF, but also spontaneous pregnancy.”

“LACTIN-V holds promise as the first treatment to increase the possibility of pregnancy from IVF, especially in women with vaginal dysbiosis,” said Thomas Parks, PhD, Director of Product Development at Osel. “While the trial’s progress was impacted by COVID-19, we expect to complete enrollment by the end of 2021/early 2022.”

About Osel, Inc.

Osel, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company based in Mountain View, California, is focused on the development and commercialization of a portfolio of live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) to prevent or treat medical conditions resulting from disruption of the human microbiome (dysbiosis). The company is a pioneer in the field of LBPs, with a primary focus in women’s health. While many current microbiome treatments involve microbial transplants that are collected and processed from donor pools, Osel focuses on rigorously selected single strain products that are highly reproducible, scalable, and safe. Visit oselinc.com to learn more.