Microba Lifesciences

DR LUKE REID

CEO

MICROBA LIFE SCIENCES

(ASX:MAP)

◾ Company Name: Microba Life Sciences ◾ Company ASX code: MAP ◾ Key areas: Microbiome testing, drug discovery ◾ Key Personnel: Dr Luke Reid, CEO | Pasquale Rombola, Chairman | Prof. Ian Frazer (AC), Deputy Chair ◾ Locations: Australia ◾ Market Cap as of 15/09/22: $54.87M ◾ 52 Week share price as of 15 September: $0.190 - $0.450 ◾ Company Website: microba.com

COMPANY PROFILE

With world-leading technology for measuring the human gut microbiome, Microba Life Sciences is driving the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for major chronic diseases and delivering gut microbiome testing services globally to researchers, clinicians, and consumers.

Microba provides testing and data analysis for a fee and through these insights, develops novel monoclonal microbial cell therapies for a range of different diseases.

To date, the company’s proprietary databank holds around 15,000 samples, 1.2 million genomes and 11.7 million genes which reveal disease signatures, and have already led to the production of novel therapeutic leads across 18 diseases.

The microbiome sector, an emerging market flagged at around US$4.89 billion this year, represents one of the biggest untapped opportunities to improve human health, with microbiome testing and therapeutics set to become a routine part of future healthcare.

The theory holds water, particularly since there’s a growing body of evidence that modifying the gut biome plays a role in resolving chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, and inflammatory conditions

And when 6 in 10 people in the US have a chronic disease like cancer or diabetes, it represents a significant market opportunity for Microba, which is why the company recently executed three major international agreements.

The first deal is with Genova Diagnostics, a US-based gastrointestinal pathology company; the second with G42 Healthcare, a health-tech company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) targeting the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); and a third with Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA) which invested US3.5m in Microba’s ASX IPO.

With Ginkgo, the aim is to target the development of novel microbiomebased therapies for three major autoimmune disorders: lupus, psoriatic arthritis and certain autoimmune liver diseases.

Microba plans to leverage Ginkgo’s high-throughput anaerobic culturing, multi-omics data collection and analysis, functional bioassay screening, and its media and fermentation optimisation capabilities to generate datasets that characterise potential therapeutic strains for the disorders.

Other notable partners for Microba include International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE: IFF), Europe’s largest pathology company Synlab (GR:SYAB) and digital healthcare company Midnight Health, backed by nib Holdings Limited (ASX:NHF), to deliver a personalised consumer health service to the Australian market.

Microba even has a partnership with the Australia Department of Defence, using its dataset to link gut microbiome and cognitive performance in soldiers, which could have therapeutic applications in anxiety and depression.

The company’s current focus however is its inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) program with a Phase 1 trial for its drug candidate planned for FY2023, targeting the roughly 55% of US residents who suffer from IBD, a market worth around US$19.2 billion with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8%.

Microba is also working on its cancer program to develop a microbiomederived cancer immunotherapy, a target market flagged to be worth more than $50 billion by 2025. Added to this, autoimmune diseases represent a US$53 billion market with a 11.2% CAGR.

Microba has the team with the knowledge and experience to use this data to secure its market foothold, and its scientific co-founders are in the top 1% of cited researchers globally.

The company boasts some big names including Professor Ian Frazer, current Chair of the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board and inventor of the Gardasil vaccine for the Human papillomavirus.

KEY INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS

JUNE 8, 2022: Autoimmune Disease program commences, with the first strains from Microba’s biobank supplied to development partner, Ginkgo Bioworks. JUNE 28, 2022: G42 Healthcare’s first microbiome reports, powered by Microba’s Analysis Platform, delivered to users in the United Arab Emirates. JUNE 30, 2022: First microbiome tests in recently signed partnership with Genova Diagnostics made available to health practitioners in the United States.