Commercial feasibility of microbial therapy

Our body is colonized by complex microbial communities (our microbiome) that are most abundant in the intestinal tract where they contribute significantly to our health and disease. It has been established that aberrations in our microbiome are of particular importance in obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, rapidly growing diseases with a drug market volume of over 5 B$ per year. We have discovered in the ERC project Microbes Inside that a particular bacterium is able to modify the intestinal microbiome and may be used to develop a new approach to treat these and other metabolic diseases. The Proof of Concept project ACOM aims to confirm the commercial and technological feasibility of this approach, consolidate and expand our IP position, and develop a product development plan. These form the elements of a business plan that is expected to result in establishing a spin out company (ACOM).