STORM Therapeutics has entered a new collaboration with US based AlidaBio to accelerate the development of cancer therapies that target RNA modifications.

The partnership will combine STORM’s clinical expertise with AlidaBio’s next-generation sequencing platforms to deepen understanding of how inhibiting the RNA-modifying enzyme METTL3 affects cancer biology.

The agreement will see STORM use AlidaBio’s EpiPlex and EpiScout technologies to detect and measure transcript-specific N6-methyladenosine RNA modifications arising from METTL3 inhibition. These analyses will be carried out in clinical samples from patients receiving STC 15, STORM’s first-in-class METTL3 inhibitor currently being evaluated in phase 1/2 trials.

Post-transcriptional RNA modification, including m6A, plays a central role in regulating RNA metabolism, influencing synthesis, stability, maturation, transport and translation. METTL3 inhibition reduces global m6A levels, disrupting these regulatory processes. By examining m6A dynamics in patient samples, the companies aim to link molecular changes with clinical outcomes.

The collaboration will also investigate whether baseline m6A patterns can predict which patients are most likely to respond to METTL3 inhibition. The partners intend to validate m6A-regulated genes and cell types affected by treatment, supporting the development of biomarkers that could guide patient selection in future studies.

Eric Martin, Chief Development Officer at STORM Therapeutics, said: “AlidaBio has demonstrated exceptional expertise and leadership in the field of RNA-modification analysis, particularly through the development of advanced NGS technologies capable of detecting key epitranscriptomic modifications in both healthy and diseased settings.

“Through this collaboration, our shared goal is to extend our understanding of transcript-specific m6A changes in relation to clinical benefit and patient response, to improve outcomes for cancer patients treated with STC-15.”

MRM Health, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing microbiome-based therapeutics for inflammatory diseases and immuno-oncology, has announced its collaboration with Professor Emile Voest, senior group leader at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) and senior investigator at Oncode Institute.

MRM hopes to accelerate the development of novel live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) to improve the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in cancer treatment, assisted by Voest’s established expertise in tumour microbiome research and translational oncology.

ICIs have transformative potential in cancer therapy, but immune-related adverse events (irAEs), heightened toxicity in combinations, primary or acquired resistance and serious side effects can limit their use. Scientific evidence now suggests that ICI efficacy, safety and combination potential could be enhanced through targeted modulation of the gut microbiome.

Certain microbiome compositions are associated with more favourable outcomes, while microbiome imbalances caused by antibiotics and other therapies are associated with reduced survival.

MRM hopes to use its proprietary CORAL platform for the development of bacterial consortia that can restore the dysbiotic microbiome and modulate immune and metabolic pathways linked with ICI response. Voest’s insights in this area will allow MRM to accelerate design and production.

Voest said: “Our research has demonstrated the critical role of the gut microbiome and its metabolites in shaping responses to immunotherapy. By partnering with MRM Health, our insights can be turned into innovative therapeutic strategies aimed at overcoming resistance and unlocking the full potential of ICI treatments.”

Sam Possemiers, CEO of MRM, added: “By combining our rational microbiome design platform with Professor Voest and his team at the NKI, we aim to accelerate the creation of next-generation therapies that increase response rates to immune checkpoint inhibitors, meaningfully improving patient outcomes across multiple cancer types.”