The microbiome searches for a second act

The microbiome sector has approved medicines on the market, but it has not yet delivered the broad therapeutic class that early investors once expected. Its current phase is more focused, with companies trying to show that gut bacteria can be developed into consistent, regulated products with clear clinical uses.

The strongest evidence remains in recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that C difficile causes almost half a million infections in the USA each year. About one in nine patients develops another infection within two to eight weeks.