Macrobiome Therapeutics

What Macrobiome Therapeutics does

Macrobiome Therapeutics is an Australian pre-clinical biotechnology company founded in 2020 in Cairns, Queensland, developing helminth-derived recombinant protein therapeutics for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. The company's proprietary platform is based on identifying and expressing 90+ secretome proteins from the human hookworm Necator americanus using pharmaceutical industry-standard mammalian cell lines, screening these proteins for anti-inflammatory activity. Twenty proteins have demonstrated significant protection in pre-clinical colitis models, with two lead candidates (MBT-001 and MBT-002) advancing through pre-clinical development for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), supported by ex vivo validation against human gut biopsy tissue from IBD patients. The platform is also being extended into asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, with broader potential across metabolic disease.

The company was founded by Professor Alex Loukas and Dr Paul Giacomin from the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine at James Cook University, building on decades of foundational hookworm secretomics research including a 2006 clinical study by Dr John Croese establishing proof-of-concept for hookworm therapy in Crohn's disease. The company is led by CEO Dr Keats Nelms with a scientific advisory board that includes former executives from Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Takeda, and Janssen, providing deep biopharma development expertise. The board is chaired by Luke McGrath with Main Sequence representation (Elaine Stead).

As a pre-clinical stage company, Macrobiome generates no product revenue. The business model anticipates future revenue through licensing deals, co-development collaborations, and milestone/royalty arrangements with pharmaceutical partners, with potential platform technology licensing to additional partners. The company is venture-backed with Main Sequence as lead investor, alongside Taisho Pharmaceutical, Edale Capital, Tegmen Medical Research Impact Fund, and government support through the AusIndustry CRC Program. The GTM motion focuses on direct enterprise outreach to global pharmaceutical companies for licensing or co-development once candidates advance through pre-clinical development.

Name

Macrobiome Therapeutics

Legal name

Macrobiome Therapeutics Pty Ltd

Website

https://macrobiometherapeutics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Macrobiome Therapeutics is an Australian pre-clinical biotech developing helminth-derived recombinant protein therapeutics (MBT-001, MBT-002) for inflammatory bowel disease, with platform expansion into asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, targeting future pharmaceutical licensing partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biopharmaceutical 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

Therapeutic Peptides & Protein/Peptide Biologics (HLAAAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Immunology & Autoimmune Specialty Pharmaceuticals (HLAIACAB)

Keywords

• Helminth-derived biologics
• Recombinant protein therapeutics
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Immune-mediated disease drugs
• Secretome protein platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Cairns

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Licensing and Co-development Deals: As a pre-clinical stage biotech, Macrobiome's primary anticipated revenue model involves licensing its drug candidates to pharmaceutical partners and entering co-development collaborations. This would include upfront payments, milestone payments tied to development, regulatory, and commercial achievements, as well as royalties on net sales of approved products.
2. Platform Technology Licensing: Potential licensing of the secretome protein discovery platform and secretome library to pharmaceutical partners for their own drug discovery programs, generating licensing fees and milestone payments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Macrobiome Therapeutics is a pre-clinical biotech developing first-in-class helminth-derived recombinant protein therapeutics for immune-mediated diseases. Its core offerings are two pre-clinical lead candidates, MBT-001 and MBT-002, targeting inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), supported by a proprietary secretome protein discovery platform of 90+ recombinant proteins expressed in mammalian cell lines with validated anti-inflammatory activity.

Product overview

Macrobiome Therapeutics is a pre-clinical biotech developing a pipeline of helminth-derived recombinant protein therapeutics for immune-mediated diseases. The company's core offerings are MBT-001 and MBT-002 — two distinct lead candidates targeting inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) — supported by a proprietary secretome protein library platform comprising 90+ expressed proteins. MBT-001 and MBT-002 represent first-in-class biologics with differentiated mechanisms of action, both validated in pre-clinical colitis models and against human IBD patient tissue. The secretome platform also enables expansion into asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and metabolic disease.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MBT-001 A first-in-class helminth-derived recombinant protein therapeutic candidate targeting upstream immune dysregulation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Demonstrates significant protection in colitis models and validated activity against human gut biopsy tissue from IBD patients. Currently in pre-clinical development.
• MBT-002 A second distinct helminth-derived recombinant protein therapeutic candidate with a differentiated mechanism of action from MBT-001, providing a complementary approach to immune modulation in IBD. Independently validated in pre-clinical colitis models. Currently in pre-clinical development.
• Secretome Protein Library Platform A proprietary drug discovery platform comprising 90+ recombinant helminth-derived immunomodulatory proteins from Necator americanus expressed in pharmaceutical industry standard mammalian cell lines and screened for anti-inflammatory activity. Twenty hit proteins have demonstrated significant protection in colitis models, with platform applicability across IBD, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and metabolic disease.

Quantifiable outcome

• 7M+ people worldwide living with IBD — chronic disease with no cure
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• James Cook University AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Founding institutional partner and the birthplace of Macrobiome's scientific discovery. James Cook University's world-leading tropical biology and immunology programmes have been foundational to Macrobiome's scientific discovery and early-stage development. The company was founded by researchers from JCU's Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine (AITHM) in Cairns, Queensland.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AbbVie: Owner of Humira, Skyrizi, and Rinvoq — the dominant franchise in IBD and immunology biologics. Represents the gold-standard competitive benchmark for any immunology biologic platform and a likely partner/acquirer candidate for differentiated IBD assets.
• Janssen Pharmaceuticals (Johnson & Johnson): Major IBD biologics player with Stelara, Tremfya, and Remicade. Another senior IBD R&D executive from Janssen (Dr John Parkinson) advises Macrobiome. Represents the dominant incumbent in IBD biologics that any new entrant must differentiate against.
• Takeda Pharmaceutical: Global pharmaceutical leader with Entyvio (vedolizumab) as a flagship IBD biologic. A senior IBD R&D executive from Takeda (Dr John Parkinson) advises Macrobiome. Relevant both as a potential acquirer/licensor and as a benchmark for the IBD biologics competitive landscape.

Emerging players

• Assembly Biosciences: Clinical-stage biotech developing biologics for inflammatory and immunological diseases. Comparable as a platform-driven immunology therapeutics company, though with a different mechanism focus (microbiome/gut immunology vs. helminth-derived proteins).
• Second Genome: Microbiome-focused drug discovery company identifying microbial proteins and metabolites for inflammatory diseases. Highly comparable platform-overlap: identifies microbial-derived protein therapeutics for immune-mediated diseases, similar discovery-and-license model.
• Prometheus Biosciences: Specialty biotech focused on IBD and immune-mediated diseases, acquired by Merck for $10.8B in 2023. Comparable as a focused immunology biotech developing precision biologics for IBD, providing a relevant valuation benchmark for IBD-focused biologics platforms.
• Finch Therapeutics: Microbiome therapeutics company developing microbial consortia for inflammatory diseases including IBD. Comparable as a microbiome-platform biotech pursuing inflammatory bowel disease indications, though uses whole microbial consortia rather than recombinant proteins.
• Seres Therapeutics: Pioneer in microbiome therapeutics with an approved product (Vowst) and a pipeline focused on inflammatory and immune-mediated diseases. Comparable as a microbiome-derived therapeutic platform pursuing inflammatory disease indications, but at a later stage with more advanced clinical assets.

Regional players

• Microba Life Sciences: Australian microbiome-focused life sciences company developing therapeutics and diagnostics from gut microbiome science. Comparable as an Australian-region microbiome platform company; notably, Macrobiome's scientific advisor (Prof Trent Munro) is SVP of Therapeutics at Microba, indicating ecosystem overlap.

Direct peers

• Vedanta Biosciences: Clinical-stage microbiome-derived therapeutics company developing defined consortia and biologics for immune-mediated diseases. Directly comparable as a platform-driven immunology biotech leveraging microbial science to develop novel oral biologics, though at a more advanced clinical stage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Macrobiome Therapeutics