The Cleveland Clinic claims that “the gut is a gold mine” in terms of unlocking mysteries about the human body, and has put it in the number one spot of its Top Ten Medical Innovations of 2017.
Recent research has suggested that the microbiome can have a positive effect on anything from diabetes to heart conditions, right through to anxiety and stress.
UK-listed OptiBiotix Health plc (LON:OPTI) echoes those sentiments.
“If you look at where we were two or three years ago we were trying to understand the microbiome,” says its chief executive Stephen OHara.
“Now, we understand the potential health benefits and, from an OptiBiotix point of view, we have the tools to manipulate the microbiome to create those health benefits.
Microbes – which form the microbiome in our body – make up 90% of the cells on our body and, even though they’re invisible to the naked eye, are essential for our survival.
OHara explains that in recent years, scientists have discovered that it is more beneficial to change these microbes than to try and change the human cells in our body.
This is what OptiBiotix is focusing on and has been for a good few years now – manipulating the microbiome to try and improve various health conditions.
“We’ll have more [partnership deals] coming through as partners start to recognise the importance of the microbiome and the work that we’re doing.”