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AusBiotech Emerging Company of the Year 2018

Leading gut microbiome analysis biotech Microba has been named ‘Emerging Company of the Year’ in the AusBiotech and Johnson & Johnson Innovation Industry Excellence Awards at the AusBiotech 2018 conference.

The Awards recognise innovative companies and individuals in Australia’s world-class biotechnology, medical technology and healthcare sectors.

Blake Wills, Microba CEO, said the award recognised Microba’s ambitions to enhance the health of Australians through a deeper understanding of the gut microbiome, which has been recognised by the medical community as a new frontier for science and medicine.

“This award is a testament to the world-class team of scientists, researchers and clinicians at Microba who are advancing our understanding of the gut microbiome through cutting-edge technology and innovation. We hope that by furthering our knowledge of the gut microbiome, we will be able to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals.”

Microba picked up the coveted Emerging Company of the Year award for its development towards new pathology services, therapeutics and diagnostics based on the gut microbiome. Since the first product launch in July 2018, the company has delivered over 2,000 Microba Insight results to customers.

Microba Co-founder and creator of the company’s metagenomic sampling approach, Professor Gene Tyson explained that samples are already yielding interesting and scientifically significant results.

“From 2,000 samples received back to the lab, we have already discovered more than 800 new species of microorganisms that are common in the gut microbiome of Australians. These new discoveries are helping researchers identify patterns between patient demographics and the prevalence or absence of certain microorganisms.”

Microba believes this award will serves as a great platform to further its vision to improve lives by providing a deeper understanding of the gut microbiome using expert scientific knowledge and approaches. Future initiatives include growing Microba’s robust database of human gut microbiome samples to identify suitable microorganisms to develop therapies that help improve gut microbiome associated disease states.