A new revolution in Life Science and Healthcare called “Microbiome”

Any new development in life science and healthcare starts with baby steps and slowly but surely takes the world by storm. Whether it is small molecule based, high-end genomics guided targeted cancer therapy or the immuno-checkpoint inhibitors which are taking cancer treatment to the next level of personalization and precision.

In the last decade one small buzz word has created quite a noise and is bringing hope that indeed wellness and personalized treatment is a possibility – enter the world of the “microbiome”. The term microbiome means the entire genome of the microbiota ecosystem. The advent of microbiome research parallels the advancement in next generation sequencing (NGS). Before NGS came into the picture, microbiology-based study could rely only on culturing microorganisms in the lab which had its own drawbacks. Now, with advanced sequencing technologies and smart algorithms it is possible to dissect the microbial ecosystem without the need to culture microorganisms in the lab.

Human intestine harbors the maximum number of commensal organisms which are into a delicate relationship with the host. It is therefore not a surprise that maximum gut microbiota based studies are published which look into how gut microbiota plays an important role in human health and wellness.

Do you know:-

Ø   Metagenomic sequencing of fecal samples has identified 3.3 × 10⁶ nonredundant  microbial genes from up to 1,150 different species, outnumbering human protein-coding genes by about 150-fold

Ø     Each person is estimated to host at least 160 different species 

Ø  In 2007, only 14 NIH grants contained the word “microbiome” in their titles or abstracts, and the number went up to 1,043 in 2017

Ø   More than 10000 papers published in the last 3 years on “gut microbiota”

With new studies and developments in the gut microbiome space, it would suffice to say-

“If eyes are the windows to the soul, then gut microbiome is the window to your health”

The industry has also taken a leaf and are dwelling into various aspects of the microbiome space. Companies like Leucine Rich Bio (India), Day Two (Israel), Viome (USA), UBiome (USA), Microba (Australia) etc. are taking the developments in the research to consumers directly by providing easy to use at home gut health tests. And there are companies like Enterome (France), Vedanta Bioscience (USA), Seres Therapeutics (USA) etc. that are looking into tapping the therapeutic potential of the microbiome and thus bringing new paradigms in treatment of various type of cancer, IBD, IBS etc.

Investors especially in the Western world have and are putting lot of faith in these new age companies. Most notably Seventure Partners that have funded a slew of microbiome companies in Europe and the US.

Although, lot many research and studies will be needed in future to validate the interesting leads that the microbiome domain throws up yet it is pertinent that all stakeholders especially clinicians and investors in Asia also support this with less skepticism and more openness as the success of the microbiome can lead to a new era of healthcare and wellness

 

Funding the Indian Life Science start-ups – a perspective

The new ‘start-up’ culture developing in India is a good sign. Investors are getting more interested in this space; however, the investors also need to look beyond the e-commerce space. Many life science based organizations can be a good bet for middle to long run outlook. Life science offers a big arena to potential investors. From drug discovery companies to Bioinformatics organizations looking to disruptive technologies to cater to the ever increasing healthcare needs.  Although life science domain requires a considerably longer gestation period yet there are companies or technologies that can give a quicker return on investment. Investment from a well meaning ‘patient’ investor(s) can be a force multiplier. The idea of an ‘ideal’ investor is not very difficult to fathom. Good investment can really turn around a company faster as compared to, let’ say, if the start-up wanted to scale up through only internal accruals. 

Life Science organizations require highly skilled manpower. The technology used is ever evolving hence there is a big scope for right investment in the right organizations. The chance of ‘fly-by night’ operators in this domain is slim or negligible. With newer breakthroughs in hardware and better understanding of the human genome, smarter drugs, accurate diagnosis-prognosis are all in the realm of reality. Personalized/Precision medicine is the new buzz word which includes not only advances in medicine but also diagnostics, bio-IT, genomics, proteomics etc. Start-up organizations working in all the above mentioned mini-domains ultimately would cater to the ocean of better healthcare. Therefore the success of many of these organizations would depend on how the investor community looks at this space and helps it grow more thereby not only creating jobs but also giving India  the ‘knowledge-edge’ that many of the intellectuals talk about as our strength.

I believe that the start-up revolution in the bioscience space in India has not even started but if nurtured well it has the potential to turn around and give India its next ‘Life Science Google/Alphabet’