Lallemand Health Solutions has announced a new research partnership with Université Laval to develop next-generation biotics.
The project will involve researchers from the Research Centers of the Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec (IUCPQ)-Université Laval, the CHU de Québec-Université Laval and the Institut sur la Nutrition et les Aliments Fonctionnels (INAF) of Université Laval.
Lallemand said in its statement that the initiative would seek to identify high-value microbial ingredients, develop innovative formulations for healthy ageing and generate scientific data to support future clinical trials.
In particular, the pair will aim to find solutions to support cardiometabolic and neurocognitive health throughout the ageing process.
As the global population ages, the risk of cardiometabolic and cognitive disorders increases, highlighting the urgent need to develop strategies that target the underlying biological mechanisms of ageing.
Research has shown that ageing alters gut microbiota and intestinal health, which may contribute to declines in cardiometabolic and neurocognitive functions.
"Our approach relies on an integrated translational strategy that combines human data, predictive preclinical models and in-depth mechanistic analyses," said Dr Stéphane Bronner, Translational Research Director at the Rosell Institute of Microbiome and Probiotics, Lallemand Health Solutions’ main research centre.
The objective is to generate product candidates that are ready for clinical validation. This collaboration builds on our fully integrated innovation pipeline, from early discovery through preclinical validation.
The partnership will bring together Lallemand's portfolio of more than 40 proprietary probiotic strains with Université Laval's unique biobank derived from human cohorts and state-of-the-art research platforms.
"With this project, our goals are to identify and characterise beneficial bacterial strains and consortia, to demonstrate their efficacy on cardiometabolic, cognitive and inflammatory markers associated with ageing and ultimately to develop one or more candidates ready for human clinical validation," added Dr André Marette, Professor of Medicine and researcher at the IUCPQ and INAF at Université Laval.
The research programme will implement a progressive, integrated approach, starting with the screening and prioritisation of strains using in silico analyses and existing datasets.
High-throughput functional screening in preclinical models will identify signatures associated with longevity, metabolic health and neurocognitive function.
Promising candidates will then be tested in an in vivo model of accelerated ageing, incorporating comprehensive phenotyping of cardiometabolic, intestinal and neurocognitive aspects for preclinical validation.
