In the space of just a few years, MRM Health has transformed from a challenger in the emerging microbiome therapeutics field to a global forerunner. CEO Sam Possemiers has steered the Belgian company through the rollercoaster of scientific uncertainty and investor skepticism to reach what he calls the “slope of enlightenment.” Now, with late-stage clinical trials ahead and a new important funding round within reach, Possemiers is sharing his lessons-learned with other biotech CEOs.
Researchers are sounding the alarm – there could be as much as a spoon’s worth of plastic inside our brain. Industrial activity, tire dust, lost fishing gear, and excessive use of disposable plastics are important drivers of microplastic pollution in our environment and, ultimately, in our bodies. While the full impact on human health is still being investigated, the fact that these particles can migrate into deeper tissues of our brain, crossing the blood-brain barrier, is worrying to say the least.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) SARS-CoV-2 is experiencing a resurgence, with the risk of future outbreaks from emerging variants remaining substantial. To stay ahead of the curve, continued investment in both preventative measures and novel therapies is vital. Groundbreaking Belgian research is leading the way with high-potential compounds targeting SARS-CoV-2, offering a promising new avenue for treatment and pandemic preparedness.
The Human Cell Atlas is an international effort to create a map of the 37 trillion cells of the healthy human body cell by cell, tissue by tissue. If that sounds like an overwhelming task, you’d be right… But with researchers now leveraging high-throughput single-cell and spatial transcriptomic technologies to investigate cells from diverse human populations, we’re creeping ever closer to our destination and the ‘cell nav’ of the future.
Read on to find out where we are and where we’re heading on our journey on one of the most transformative scientific endeavors since the complete sequencing of the human genome. Thankfully, visions like One Health aim to lead multiple sectors, disciplines, and communities in the right direction to find sustainable non-human-centric solutions to these challenges.
Let’s take a look at what One Health is and how the EU and Belgium are playing their part.
The vast majority of drug development focuses on the two percent of the human genome that codes for proteins. While functional proteins are obvious low-hanging fruits for therapeutics, an untapped world of potent drug targets patiently waits in the shadows.
Now, researchers and pharmaceutical companies from Belgium and beyond are gradually unraveling the secrets of the dark genome to find novel medicines for a wide range of disorders, including cancer, neurodegeneration, and obesity.
The world is more interconnected than ever. But our global network goes beyond humans: the health of all people on Earth is intimately dependent on the wellbeing of our ecosystems – our animals, plants, microbes, and the atmosphere that sustains us all. In this article, Belgian veterinary scientist Jan Spaas shares his thoughts on the ‘One Health’ approach from the WHO, and the bi-directional link between human and animal health.
Infectious diseases are commonly associated with bacteria and viruses. However, fungi should also be added to this list as there is growing concern that antifungal resistance could be the next global challenge. Moreover, because fungi are eukaryotic like humans, developing targeted treatments without causing toxicity to the host presents a significant challenge. The World Health Organization has recently published its first list of health-threatening fungi. This list aims to promote research to enhance the global response to fungal infections and the growing issue of antifungal resistance. One ‘high-priority’ fungus in particular, Candida auris, has mycologists holding their breath due to its rapid global spread and multidrug resistance.
Environments are scattered with the DNA of the organisms that inhabit them. Analyzing this DNA could shine a spotlight on how our planet’s biodiversity is changing, from studies in the depths of the oceans to the frigid polar regions. From a One Health perspective, biodiversity is crucial to promoting healthy ecosystems and healthy people.
But, while methods that sequence environmental DNA (eDNA) are increasingly powerful in detecting species without direct observation, we need increasingly powerful algorithms to make sense of the complex DNA world around us to truly protect our planet's biodiversity.
The UN has declared antimicrobial resistance (AMR) one of the ten major threats to humanity. In Belgium, AMR is associated with around 8000 deaths per year and contributes to an estimated 4.95 million global human deaths annually, set to almost double by 2050. Unfortunately, there are worryingly few novel antimicrobials in development, and even fewer are currently available to patients with severe infections who need them most. Why?
Drug repurposing describes the process where drugs originally designed for one condition turn out to be highly effective for another. Historically, drug repurposing has often occurred by chance. However, in the era of big data and artificial intelligence, new data-driven opportunities are arising to discover new roles for old medicines and help patients in unexpected ways.
In the space of just a few years, MRM Health has transformed from a challenger in the emerging microbiome therapeutics field to a global forerunner. CEO Sam Possemiers has steered the Belgian company through the rollercoaster of scientific uncertainty and investor skepticism to reach what he calls the “slope of enlightenment.” Now, with late-stage clinical trials ahead and a new important funding round within reach, Possemiers is sharing his lessons-learned with other biotech CEOs.
Researchers are sounding the alarm – there could be as much as a spoon’s worth of plastic inside our brain. Industrial activity, tire dust, lost fishing gear, and excessive use of disposable plastics are important drivers of microplastic pollution in our environment and, ultimately, in our bodies. While the full impact on human health is still being investigated, the fact that these particles can migrate into deeper tissues of our brain, crossing the blood-brain barrier, is worrying to say the least.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) SARS-CoV-2 is experiencing a resurgence, with the risk of future outbreaks from emerging variants remaining substantial. To stay ahead of the curve, continued investment in both preventative measures and novel therapies is vital. Groundbreaking Belgian research is leading the way with high-potential compounds targeting SARS-CoV-2, offering a promising new avenue for treatment and pandemic preparedness.
The Human Cell Atlas is an international effort to create a map of the 37 trillion cells of the healthy human body cell by cell, tissue by tissue. If that sounds like an overwhelming task, you’d be right… But with researchers now leveraging high-throughput single-cell and spatial transcriptomic technologies to investigate cells from diverse human populations, we’re creeping ever closer to our destination and the ‘cell nav’ of the future.
Read on to find out where we are and where we’re heading on our journey on one of the most transformative scientific endeavors since the complete sequencing of the human genome. Thankfully, visions like One Health aim to lead multiple sectors, disciplines, and communities in the right direction to find sustainable non-human-centric solutions to these challenges.
Let’s take a look at what One Health is and how the EU and Belgium are playing their part.
The vast majority of drug development focuses on the two percent of the human genome that codes for proteins. While functional proteins are obvious low-hanging fruits for therapeutics, an untapped world of potent drug targets patiently waits in the shadows.
Now, researchers and pharmaceutical companies from Belgium and beyond are gradually unraveling the secrets of the dark genome to find novel medicines for a wide range of disorders, including cancer, neurodegeneration, and obesity.
The world is more interconnected than ever. But our global network goes beyond humans: the health of all people on Earth is intimately dependent on the wellbeing of our ecosystems – our animals, plants, microbes, and the atmosphere that sustains us all. In this article, Belgian veterinary scientist Jan Spaas shares his thoughts on the ‘One Health’ approach from the WHO, and the bi-directional link between human and animal health.
Infectious diseases are commonly associated with bacteria and viruses. However, fungi should also be added to this list as there is growing concern that antifungal resistance could be the next global challenge. Moreover, because fungi are eukaryotic like humans, developing targeted treatments without causing toxicity to the host presents a significant challenge. The World Health Organization has recently published its first list of health-threatening fungi. This list aims to promote research to enhance the global response to fungal infections and the growing issue of antifungal resistance. One ‘high-priority’ fungus in particular, Candida auris, has mycologists holding their breath due to its rapid global spread and multidrug resistance.
Environments are scattered with the DNA of the organisms that inhabit them. Analyzing this DNA could shine a spotlight on how our planet’s biodiversity is changing, from studies in the depths of the oceans to the frigid polar regions. From a One Health perspective, biodiversity is crucial to promoting healthy ecosystems and healthy people.
But, while methods that sequence environmental DNA (eDNA) are increasingly powerful in detecting species without direct observation, we need increasingly powerful algorithms to make sense of the complex DNA world around us to truly protect our planet's biodiversity.
The UN has declared antimicrobial resistance (AMR) one of the ten major threats to humanity. In Belgium, AMR is associated with around 8000 deaths per year and contributes to an estimated 4.95 million global human deaths annually, set to almost double by 2050. Unfortunately, there are worryingly few novel antimicrobials in development, and even fewer are currently available to patients with severe infections who need them most. Why?
Drug repurposing describes the process where drugs originally designed for one condition turn out to be highly effective for another. Historically, drug repurposing has often occurred by chance. However, in the era of big data and artificial intelligence, new data-driven opportunities are arising to discover new roles for old medicines and help patients in unexpected ways.