The 2-year research partnership will focus on improving the benefit/risk ratio of chemotherapy by decreasing gut inflammation caused by chemotherapy to potentially improve response rates through modulation of the microbiome.

Recent studies demonstrate that microbiome plays an important role in gut inflammation and that oral intake of oncology drugs can induce enterocolitis. As such, the administration of beneficial microbes may lead to improving overall patient care and comfort while undergoing cancer treatment.

“We are privileged to be working with Dr Martin J. Blaser, Dr Fang Liu and their team at Rutgers on a project targeted at improving patient care for those undergoing chemotherapy, and to combine world-class science from Dr Blaser and his team with our broad portfolio of microbes to further advance the understanding of the intake of beneficial microbes on human health,” said Sébastien Guéry, PhD, Human Microbiome Venture leader, DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences.

The DuPont Human Microbiome Venture (HMV) was launched in 2017 to spearhead development of next-generation microbiome solutions for improved health and wellness.

Staying at the forefront of biotechnology innovation, HMV is designed to accelerate product development to complement its existing portfolio and build on DuPont’s strong expertise in prebiotics, microbes, proteins and enzymes use for human health.

“We are delighted to further develop our relationship with DuPont for the benefit of human health,” said Martin J. Blaser, Director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine.

“The interaction of the microbiome with cancer is an important frontier, with important leads already. Our project is aimed to discover new ways to improve cancer therapies.”