Holobiome, a Microbiome Platform Startup Targeting the Gut-Brain-Axis, Closes Oversubscribed Seed Round

BOSTON, Oct. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Holobiome has closed an oversubscribed Seed round of $9M. The round was led by iSelect Fund, with major participation from Corundum Systems Biology, Satori Neuro, SkyRiver Ventures, Pace Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, and Astanor. The company's initial success with substantial non-dilutive funding laid the groundwork for this sizeable institutional round. 

Holobiome is building the world's most comprehensive collection of human gut bacteria – it's Microbiome Vault – and performing target-directed screening of this collection to map how the microbiome influences health. The large datasets generated by these screens are used to inform development of novel consumer products and drugs. Holobiome's initial focus is on mapping the gut-brain axis, and its lead program is a next-generation probiotic targeting biology relevant for depression. Through its partnership model, Holobiome is advancing other programs with major consumer, food, and pharmaceutical partners, in areas including stress and pain.

Dr. Philip Strandwitz, CEO and co-founder of Holobiome, highlights: "Over the past two decades, we have come to appreciate that our microbiome – the trillions of microbes that live on and in us, most of which reside in the gut – is essential for many aspects of our well-being. This is obvious in hindsight, as this complex and beautiful microbial ecosystem has evolved alongside humans for millennia, enabling each of us to become a superorganism, a Holobiont."

"However, we have also learned that our gut microbiome can be destroyed, through poor diet, hyper sanitation, antibiotic use, and infection. This disruption has recently been tied to nearly all aspects of our health, ranging from metabolic disease to neuropsychiatric disorders. This gives hope – fixing the gut microbiome has the potential to improve the daily lives of millions of people, and could even be a cure for some of humanity's most tragic diseases."

"But there is a major problem in translating the science of the gut microbiome into potential solutions – we cannot currently replenish nor change our microbiome with precision. Of the many thousand bacterial species and strains that we can 'see' in the human gut through genome sequencing, most have never even been grown in the laboratory, and only a small portion can be purchased in products or found in food. This means if you are missing important gut microbes, it's nearly impossible to add them to your gut microbiome. This also prevents testing basic hypotheses or generating datasets that enable action – such as how your gut microbiome will respond to specific foods, and how you can harness that knowledge to improve health and prevent disease."

"This is the exact problem Holobiome seeks to fix through our platform – we want to help build a future where having your optimal gut microbiome is by choice, not chance," says Dr. Strandwitz.

"Like many others, we have been closely observing the field of the microbiome," says Craig Herron, Managing Director of iSelect Fund. "The science is undeniable, but it hasn't yet been translated into meaningful solutions. We believe Holobiome's microbiology-first platform is the key to unlocking this potential, opening up broad opportunities for both food applications and pharmaceuticals."

As part of the funding round, Dr. Joan LaRovere, Operating Partner of iSelect and Associate Chief Medical Officer for Transformation at Boston Children's Hospital, will join Dr. Iain Chessell, Global Head of Neuroscience of AstraZeneca, and Dr. Strandwitz on Holobiome's board of directors. The new capital will enable Holobiome to advance its lead program in depression into human testing, expand its platform, and build out expansive analytical pipelines coupled with real-world datasets.

About Holobiome

Holobiome is a biotechnology company harnessing the potential of the human gut microbiome to generate products that can improve health through multiple marketplaces. The Holobiome platform is powered by its Microbiome Vault – the world's most diverse collection of human gut bacteria – and proprietary tools to understand which functions gut bacteria perform that may impact health. Holobiome's initial focus is on targeting the gut-brain-axis, and its lead asset is a next generation probiotic targeting biology relevant for depression. Through a partnership model, Holobiome is advancing programs with major consumer, food, and pharmaceutical partners in other areas, like stress and pain. Holobiome was launched in 2018, and has been supported by a world-class investor base, as well as non-dilutive grants from the NIH and the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH), as well as several corporate partnerships. It is headquartered in Boston, MA, USA.

About iSelect Fund

iSelect is a venture capital firm investing in companies addressing critical global issues in agriculture, food tech and healthcare with large markets and financially attractive business models. The firm supports the disruptive potential of emerging technologies that may substantially change markets, offering unique access to pre-IPO and pre-exit companies alongside name brand, global venture funds. iSelect evaluates thousands of start-ups every year, carefully crafting a portfolio it believes has the greatest chance to make a significant impact on food and health and create the potential for significant growth. For more information visit iselectfund.com.

Media Contact: Philip Strandwitz, [email protected]

SOURCE Holobiome, Inc.