Microbiotica
Microbiotica is a Cambridge, UK-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing orally administered live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) for ulcerative colitis and immuno-oncology, using a proprietary clinic-led microbiome profiling platform to identify defined bacterial consortia with characterized mechanisms of action.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersCambridge, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Microbiotica does
Microbiotica Limited is a Cambridge, UK-based, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded in 2016 as a spin-out from the Wellcome Sanger Institute. It develops orally administered live biotherapeutic products (LBPs), which are defined consortia of commensal gut bacteria, for inflammatory bowel disease and immuno-oncology. The lead asset MB310 is an eight-strain capsule for ulcerative colitis that delivered 63.2% clinical remission versus 30% on placebo in the Phase 1b COMPOSER-1 trial; MB097 is a nine-strain capsule being evaluated in combination with MSD's KEYTRUDA in advanced melanoma patients with primary resistance to anti-PD-1 therapy in the Phase 1b MELODY-1 trial.
The company's core technology is a clinic-led microbiome profiling platform that combines mass culturing, metagenomics and machine learning to identify bacteria associated with favorable outcomes in specific patient populations. MB310 has been characterized with three independent mechanisms of action, including a novel protein (IZOR) supporting gut barrier healing and immune regulation; MB097's strains induce dendritic-cell IL-12 production that drives cytotoxic T-cell and NK-cell tumor killing. The company has assembled an unusually rich clinical dataset, including the Cancer Research UK MELRESIST and MITRE studies (up to 1,800 patients) and samples from University of Adelaide FMT studies that seeded MB310.
Microbiotica is pre-revenue and funds operations from equity (over £62 million raised to date, including a $67 million 2022 Series B co-led by Tencent). The commercial model is licensing- and partnership-driven: the company relies on MSD for KEYTRUDA supply, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation for cGMP manufacture of MB310, and previously executed a $534 million Genentech IBD collaboration. Customers are therefore strategic pharma partners rather than payers, and patients enrolled in clinical trials are end users, not revenue sources. Geographic footprint spans the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Bulgaria and Poland through trial sites.
Microbiotica firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Microbiotica
- Legal name
- Microbiotica Limited
- Website
- https://microbiotica.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Microbiotica is a Cambridge, UK-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing orally administered live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) for ulcerative colitis and immuno-oncology, using a proprietary clinic-led microbiome profiling platform to identify defined bacterial consortia with characterized mechanisms of action.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Microbiotica industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Microbiome Therapeutics
- NAICS
- Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)
- SIC
- Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Microbiome Clinical Development & Translational Services (trial design, endpoints, sampling) (HLAAAFAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Microbiome Analytics, Sequencing & Bioinformatics Platforms (HLAAAFAI), Microbiome Diagnostics & Biomarker Platforms (gut/skin/oral/vaginal) (HLAAAFAH)
Keywords
Where Microbiotica is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Microbiotica business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Others
Revenue model
- Pharmaceutical Development: Pre-revenue clinical-stage biopharma company. Revenue generation anticipated through eventual product commercialization following regulatory approval, with potential licensing/partnership deals for late-stage development and commercialization rights.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Microbiotica product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Microbiotica discovers and develops precision microbiome medicines in the form of oral live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) - defined consortia of gut bacteria identified through its clinic-led discovery platform. Its lead clinical-stage assets are MB310 (eight-strain consortium) for mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis and MB097 (nine-strain consortium) for advanced melanoma in combination with KEYTRUDA, both in Phase 1b clinical trials. The company's revenue path is through licensing, co-development and partnership agreements with pharmaceutical companies rather than direct product sales today.
Product overview
Microbiotica is a clinical-stage biopharma company developing a pipeline of oral precision microbiome medicines called live biotherapeutic products (LBPs). The company operates a clinic-led discovery platform that uses microbiome profiling, bioinformatics, and machine learning to identify bacteria associated with favorable clinical outcomes in specific patient populations. The core product portfolio includes MB310, a defined consortium of eight bacterial strains for ulcerative colitis treatment, and MB097, a defined consortium of nine bacterial strains designed to enhance immune checkpoint inhibitor efficacy in advanced melanoma. Both products are orally administered live biotherapeutic products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- MB310 MB310 is Microbiotica's lead clinical asset: a once-daily, orally administered live biotherapeutic product (LBP) consisting of a defined consortium of eight strains of commensal gut bacteria, being developed as a precision microbiome medicine for mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis. It is currently in the COMPOSER-1 Phase 1b clinical trial and has reported positive topline data including 63.2% clinical remission in the per-protocol population.
- MB097 MB097 is Microbiotica's immuno-oncology live biotherapeutic product: a once-daily, orally administered LBP consisting of a defined consortium of nine strains of gut bacteria being developed in combination with MSD's KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) for advanced melanoma. It is in the MELODY-1 Phase 1b clinical trial and has reported positive results including an objective response rate approximately double that of pembrolizumab monotherapy, with a characterised IL-12 induction mechanism linked to the IZOR bacterial outer-membrane protein.
Quantifiable outcome
- 63.2% clinical remission rate with MB310 vs 30% placebo in ulcerative colitis patients
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Microbiotica
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Microbiotica technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature4 records
Microbiotica partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- University of AdelaidecoreCollaboration with Dr Sam Costello's team to analyze clinical samples from FMT study in UC patients. Led to identification of MB310 bacterial strains. Financial details not disclosed.
- Genentechmajor$534 million strategic collaboration to discover, develop and commercialize biomarkers, targets and medicines for inflammatory bowel disease. Microbiotica delivered successfully microbial biomarker signatures of drug response. Now listed as previous collaboration.
- MSD (Merck & Co., Inc.)coreClinical trial supply collaboration where MSD supplies KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) for use in evaluating MB097 in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy in melanoma patients with primary resistance to immunotherapy. Microbiotica is study sponsor.
- Crohn's & Colitis FoundationcoreCollaboration supporting cGMP manufacture of MB310, enabling IND application and progression into first-in-human clinical trials. Foundation provides expertise and network in ulcerative colitis disease area.
- Cancer Research UK and Cambridge University HospitalscoreLandmark partnership to identify and develop microbiome co-therapies and biomarkers for cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors. Includes MELRESIST melanoma study and MITRE study (1,800 patients) in melanoma, lung, and renal cancer.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Microbiotica competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Vedanta Biosciences: Clinical-stage biotech developing defined consortia of live bacteria for immune-mediated diseases including IBD and oncology indications. Closely comparable to Microbiotica on product format (defined bacterial consortia), target indications, and clinical-stage development profile.
- Seres Therapeutics: Pioneer in microbiome therapeutics with FDA-approved VOWST for recurrent C. difficile infection and pipeline programs in IBD and oncology. Direct competitor in the live biotherapeutic product space targeting similar inflammatory and immuno-oncology indications.
- MaaT Pharma: European clinical-stage microbiome therapeutics company developing standardized, full-spectrum microbiome-based therapies for oncology and inflammatory diseases, including gut-augmenting approaches combined with immunotherapy. Comparable indication overlap and late-stage clinical development profile.
- 4D pharma: UK-based clinical-stage biotech developing single-strain live biotherapeutics for cancer and respiratory disease. Comparable to Microbiotica on company size, clinical-stage status, and live biotherapeutic modality.
- Assembly Biosciences: Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a microbiome-based program (gastrin/IL-22 fusion) targeting inflammatory bowel disease. Operates in the same microbiome-therapeutics category with overlapping IBD focus.
- Evelo Biosciences: Clinical-stage company developing oral, single-strain microbiome-based therapies for inflammatory diseases and oncology. Comparable in product format (oral microbial medicines) and clinical-stage positioning.
Broad incumbents
- Ferring Pharmaceuticals: Established global biopharma with significant IBD franchise (REBYOTA, a microbiome-derived therapy, acquired via Rebiotix). Operates in the same IBD and microbiome-therapeutics space with broader portfolio scale.
Emerging players
- Finch Therapeutics: Clinical-stage microbiome therapeutics company developing consortia-based treatments for inflammatory and infectious diseases. Comparable on technology platform and indication focus, though with narrower development pipeline.
- Siolta Therapeutics: Clinical-stage developer of defined microbial consortia targeting inflammatory diseases including IBD and asthma. Comparable product format and therapeutic area focus with similar clinical-stage maturity.
- Second Genome: Microbiome-focused drug discovery company using precision microbial science to identify therapeutic candidates for inflammatory and metabolic diseases. Comparable platform-driven approach to microbiome-based drug discovery.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Microbiotica social profiles
Digital presenceMicrobiotica financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Microbiotica leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Microbiotica funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Microbiotica M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Microbiotica
What does Microbiotica do?
Microbiotica discovers and develops precision microbiome medicines in the form of oral live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) - defined consortia of gut bacteria identified through its clinic-led discovery platform. Its lead clinical-stage assets are MB310 (eight-strain consortium) for mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis and MB097 (nine-strain consortium) for advanced melanoma in combination with KEYTRUDA, both in Phase 1b clinical trials. The company's revenue path is through licensing, co-development and partnership agreements with pharmaceutical companies rather than direct product sales today.
Is Microbiotica a public or private company?
Microbiotica is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Microbiotica founded?
Microbiotica was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Microbiotica based?
Microbiotica is headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Microbiotica make money?
One revenue line is on record: pharmaceutical Development.
Who are Microbiotica's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Vedanta Biosciences, Seres Therapeutics, MaaT Pharma, 4D pharma, Assembly Biosciences and Evelo Biosciences. Ferring Pharmaceuticals is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are Finch Therapeutics, Siolta Therapeutics and Second Genome.
Does Microbiotica have an API?
No public API is recorded for Microbiotica.
What industry is Microbiotica in?
Microbiotica's product category is Microbiome Therapeutics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAAAFAK, Microbiome Clinical Development & Translational Services (trial design, endpoints, sampling), with a secondary code of HLAAAFAI, Microbiome Analytics, Sequencing & Bioinformatics Platforms. Its NAICS code is 325414 and its SIC code is 2834.