Big Investments for Human Microbiome Research

Major companies on the scene include Second Genome, Enterome, and EpiBiome. In addition, several new startups have entered the field. Amongst the most active investors, Global Engage reports, are Seventure Partners, Flagship Pioneering and BioGaia. In fact there are some 120 companies investing in analyzing data relating to the human microbiome. To take one example, companies such as uBiome are developing genomic tests meant to identify and diagnose harmful microbes in the body.

Investments are also huge. in 2018 that “from 2011 through 2015, venture funding in microbiome firms soared 458.5 percent to $114.5 million, while overall venture investment grew 103.4 percent to $75.29 billion. Last year, microbiome investment has surged again despite a decline in overall venture funding. The $616.9 million raised for microbiome companies to date so far in 2016 is more than all of the venture investment in the microbiome space in 2011 through 2015 combined.”The the human microbiota, which is the aggregate of microorganisms that resides on or within any of a number of human tissues and biofluids. This includes the skin, mammary glands, placenta, seminal fluid, saliva conjunctiva, gastrointestinal tracts and so on. The organisms include bacteria, archaea, protists, fungi and viruses. The human microbiome is a definition beyond the ‘microbiota’, referring to the collective genomes of resident microorganisms.