Janssen’s Bold Vision For A Microbiome Institute

The new Janssen Human Microbiome Institute will focus on computational research, translational screening and clinical work, aligned with the J&J research unit’s therapeutic area strategy, according to JHMI Global Head Dirk Gevers.

Johnson & Johnson unit Janssen R&D LLC’s big plans for expanded microbiome research are underscored by its formation of the Janssen Human Microbiome Institute. The emerging microbiome area is gaining increasing attention from drug developers as an opportunity to discover new drug targets and develop therapeutics.

Global Head of the JHMI Dirk Gevers – recruited by J&J from the Broad Institute, a non-profit genomics institute of MIT and Harvard – talked with “The Pink Sheet” recently about some of his early plans for the Janssen institute. Work at the JHMI will be split between research centers in Cambridge, Mass., and Beerse, Belgium.

Gevers envisions the JHMI will bring together computational research, translational screening capability and clinical research and will work closely with Janssen’s existing therapeutic area R&D structure.

“There is alignment with many of the therapeutic areas – immunology, but also cardiovascular and metabolic disease, cancer and even infectious diseases,” Gevers said.

Janssen unveiled the JHMI in February as part of a broader research strategy to focus on preventing disease and treating early disease. The company formed three new platforms – disease prevention, disease interception and the microbiome – as part of the initiative (Also see "Janssen R&D Unveils Three New Research Platforms" - Pink Sheet, 12 Feb, 2015.).

The microbiome refers to the trillions of microbes living in and on the human body, with the largest proportion being in the gut. Early research is increasingly showing that the microbiome plays a fundamental role in human health, one that largely has been ignored.

The size of the JHMI group is yet to be determined, but Gevers said that external collaborations with academia and biotech will be critical. Partnering in the field appears to be accelerating, led by J&J, which has signed two biotech collaborations in the area of the microbiome (Also see "Big Pharma Embraces Microbiome Research; Partnering Poised To Follow" - Pink Sheet, 20 Apr, 2015.).

J&J hopes that formally establishing a group dedicated to microbiome research will aid in recruiting top talent. Gevers said it should help convince researchers of J&J’s commitment to the space and help open the doors of academic institutions, some of which have formed their own microbiome institutes.

“I feel that by making this statement, backed up by a number of deals…it is an example of how we are really invested in moving forward in the microbiome,” he said.

After announcing deals with Vedanta Biosciences Inc. and Second Genome Inc. recently, the company in March announced its first academic partnership since the formation of the institute: an alliance with Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre’s Microbiome Institute of Cork Ireland. The partnership will explore the role of viruses in shaping the human microbiome and their potential use as treatments and/or biomarkers of inflammatory bowel disease.

As a diversified health care company, J&J also sees opportunities to tap the microbiome for the development of biomarkers and diagnostics.

“I strongly believe in the possibility of there being diagnostics being built in one way or another, be it for the severity of disease, be it for potential treatment outcomes or be it susceptibility to certain diseases,” Gevers said. “It’s really a science-driven approach here, and the science is pointing out that these opportunities exist.”

He pointed to a study in type 1 diabetes that showed the microbiome begins changing up to a year before the effects of type 1 diabetes appear.

“There are some opportunities for prediction, allowing for earlier interception. Disease interception is a key mission of Janssen,” he said.

More deals and details will follow, but Gevers noted, “Many seeds are being planted right now, and we have this unique opportunity that we are building expertise internally but also monitoring how those seeds are growing into companies and making sure we stay at the front of all this.”