Human Microbiome Market & IP Landscape

A microbiome is a beneficial interaction of symbiotic microorganisms (e.g., bacteria, archaea, protists, fungi and viruses) residing inside of a multicellular organism. The human microbiome, mostly active in the gastrointestinal tract and skin, has been found to be crucial for steady regulation of the immune system, strengthening gut integrity and production of nutrition (e.g., vitamins) in a host.

Products that target the human microbiome promise to deliver on sought-after properties for health, wellness & vitality. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of anxiety and depression climbed by over 25%. The microbiota-gut-brain axis allows communication between the gastrointestinal tract, the microbes within it, and the brain. Treatments targeting the microbiota-gut-brain axis may have therapeutic benefits in stress-related disorders or depression. A healthy intestinal microbiome also shapes and builds a strong immune system unsusceptible to COVID-19 Infection.

The game is on to secure market leadership in microbiome-optimized food, beverage and formulated products - winners will create the most effective global partnerships and fill years of innovation pipelines

Unilever and Holobiome ($1.3 million raised in 2021) partnered to identify specific food ingredients that interact with these key microbiome bacteria. The long-term ambition is to enhance these ingredients in certain foods and refreshment products to naturally boost levels of calming neurotransmitters in the gut, in turn improving mental wellbeing.

Seed Health ($40 million raised in 2021) partnered with Axial Therapeutics for a gut-brain program to develop next generation probiotics and therapeutics to modulate the gut microbiota to target areas like anxiety, depression and mental well-being. Around the same time, Tate & Lyle extended dietary fiber research collaboration with APC Microbiome on gut-brain axis based immune regulation and glucose metabolism.

NutriLeads ($6.5 million of $11 million raised in 2020) presented clinical research demonstrating that natural immune health ingredient BeniCaros (soluble prebiotic carrot fiber) accelerated protective immune responsiveness and reduced airway symptom severity.

Use of probiotics and microbiome is the next big trend to address unmet needs in skin care business

A significant outcome of the Covid-19 pandemic was a rise in hyper-hygienic requirements: constant hand sanitizing and wearing masks at a frequency not witnessed before. Stripping skin microbiomes can exacerbate common skin conditions such as acne and lead to irritated and sensitive skin issues. Unmet needs exist in the market for active ingredients that could protect, restore and rebalance skin microflora ecosystems.

The potential of probiotics and microbiome in skincare are just emerging on the radar of major cosmetic and personal care companies. Recently, Shiseido expanded into the emerging microbiome segment by acquiring microbiome skincare brand Gallinée (price undisclosed). Unilever is also delving into the microbiome and relies on its scientific and AI-assisted research to solve skin-care issues.

Watching the competitive landscape helps to surface insights that predict the leading skin microbiome market competitors and informs investments in startups, new technologies and disruptive products.

Objectives of Intellar Microbiome IP Landscape Dashboards

Intellar Microbiome Landscape Dashboards are designed to visualize who is doing what, when and where - and for how much?
Key concepts: microbiome, microbiota, prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics, eubiotics, paraprobiotics and psycobiotics

Data Coverage for Intellar Microbiome IP Landscape Dashboards

More than 7,000 de-duplicated global simple patent families published in (machine translated) English since 2015

Technical literature, scientific, medical and engineering journal abstracts, full text (when available) & images published in English since 2017
News articles, press releases, business research, market forecasts, announcements and magazine content published in English since 2019