Investment from leaders in global precision medicine

Microba, Australia’s leading biotech company in gut microbiome analysis, has received a significant investment from global precision medicine company, Macrogen.

The $4.1m (AUD) strategic investment from Macrogen, who are listed on the KOSDAQ, provides a platform for Microba to scale rapidly, and working together, the parties intend to secure the position of Microba as the leading microbiome testing company on a global scale.

The precision medicine capabilities of Macrogen deliver strong expertise across the microbiome analysis value chain including next generation sequencing, diagnostic development and product distribution.

Microba uses metagenomic sequencing and its proprietary bioinformatics pipeline, called the Metagenomic Analysis Platform (MAP™), to deliver clear, accurate and clinically relevant microbiome analysis.

With Macrogen having established Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) laboratories in Korea, Japan, Singapore and US, these NGS laboratories can be utilised to perform the laboratory component of Microba’s world-class microbiome analysis.

CEO of Microba, Blake Wills, said that Microba had recognised the achievements of Macrogen in the human DNA sequencing segment over the last two decades and believed Microba could leverage this excellent platform to deliver microbiome services globally.

“It is very pleasing to have a globally recognised precision medicine company endorse Microba through investment and partnership,” he said.

“The growing requirement to deliver high-resolution microbiome analysis is an unmet need which both parties are committed to solving. The unique technology platform of Microba positions the company very well to deliver the solution.”

Kap-Seok Yang, CEO of Macrogen said, “As a strategic partner and a major shareholder of Microba, Macrogen will actively participate to expand the business of two companies”.

“Through this agreement, we expect to generate new revenue in the microbiome market through a competitive service utilising the BI pipeline of Microba and global network of Macrogen,” he said.

“It is ultimately clinicians and patients who will benefit from this new partnership as it will make this important technology available in regions which previously could not access it.”