The startup develops a herbal product that prevents irinotecan-induced diarrhea and gut damage in cancer patients. This solution reduces the incidence of severe delayed-onset diarrhea, thereby lowering hospitalization costs and improving the quality of life for patients undergoing irinotecan therapy.
Funding
$380K raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Founders
Product
Problem
Irinotecan, a chemotherapy drug used to treat various cancers, often causes severe delayed-onset diarrhea (SDOD) due to the accumulation of its active metabolite, SN-38, in the gut. This toxicity leads to hospitalization, increased costs, and interruptions in irinotecan therapy, significantly impacting patient quality of life. Current treatments for SDOD are often ineffective and do not prevent underlying intestinal damage.
Solution
Sanarentero is developing two technologies to mitigate irinotecan-induced gut toxicities: Drug Detoxifying Bacteria (DDB) and a Proprietary Botanical Product. The DDB technology utilizes bioengineered commensal bacteria expressing a plant-derived enzyme (pU71G1) to detoxify SN-38 by converting it to an inactive metabolite within the gut. The Proprietary Botanical Product is a simplified, well-standardized formula derived from the traditional herbal extract Xiao-Chai-Hu-Tang (XCHT), designed to prevent SN-38 mediated downregulation of intestinal detoxifying enzymes and inhibit microbial beta-glucuronidases, reducing intestinal exposure to SN-38 without affecting its systemic anticancer efficacy. These approaches aim to protect the gut, maintain a healthy microbiome, and enable optimal utilization of irinotecan therapy.
Target Audience
The primary target audience includes oncologists and cancer patients undergoing irinotecan chemotherapy, as well as hospitals and clinics seeking to reduce the incidence and severity of irinotecan-induced diarrhea.
Features
- **Drug Detoxifying Bacteria (DDB):**
- Engineered *E. coli* bacteria that expresses plant UGT (pU71G1) for SN-38 detoxification.
- Genetic biocontainment technology to prevent unwanted bacterial growth.
- Platform technology that can be manipulated for specificity to different toxic substrates.
- **Proprietary Botanical Product (SE_H1):**
- Simplified formula derived from Xiao-Chai-Hu-Tang (XCHT) with a proprietary ratio of active herbs.
- Designed to prevent SN-38 mediated downregulation of intestinal detoxifying enzyme, uridine glucuronyl transferase (UGT).
- Inhibits microbial beta-glucuronidases (GUS) enzyme activity.
- Targets intestinal exposure of SN-38 without impacting systemic levels.