Leveraging a year of important research updates, funding rounds, and academic papers, this report compiles the most significant industry news pertaining to microbiome drug development in 2022. It finds that the regulatory approval of three companies (Rebiotix, BiomeBank, and Proge Farm) comes at a timely manner.
The closure and downsizing of some microbiome companies are not singular to the microbiome industry but are nevertheless negative for the field. It identifies investment into the microbiome market has not decreased but has shifted to favour fewer but more mature companies.
Preferred investment modality has shifted to “simpler” modalities like small molecule, and from the infectious disease application to oncology instead. Key scientific research is highlighted in the following areas: tumor microbiomes, synthetic consortia, antimicrobial resistance, the gut-brain-axis and microbiome and autoimmunity. High profile acquisitions in the field foreshadow a potential 2023 M&A trend, whereby companies resist closure by consolidating. The expected April 2023 approval of SER-109 by the US FDA for Seres Therapeutics will likely boost investor confidence in the market.
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Luis Gosálbez
Sandwalk BioVentures is a specialty strategy, innovation, regulatory and management consulting firm focused on microbiome technologies servicing companies in the food and pharma sectors, as well as financial and strategic investors exploring to enter this field. The company has created the Microbiome Drug Database™, an online repository containing the most extensive and thorough analysis of biotechnology companies developing pharmaceuticals from or through the microbiome.