Business
Sequoia-backed Whole Biome wants to heal your gut with medical-grade probiotics
Whole Biome has pulled in $35 million in Series B financing from a list of investing titans, including Sequoia, Khosla, True Ventures, the Mayo Foundation and AME Ventues — just to name a few. The goal? to heal what ails you using microscopic bugs.
Medical science has caught on in the last few years about the importance of gut health using these bugs (also known as probiotics). Now startups are pitching in using venture money to come up with new and novel ideas.
“We’re at a unique point in time as the field of microbiome biology converges with enabling cutting-edge technologies and bioinformatics that will open up a whole new world of innovative health products,” said Colleen Cutcliffe, Whole Biome’s co-founder and chief executive officer.
Cutliffe, who hails from DNA sequencing company Pacific Biosciences, along with her partners Jim Bullard and John Eid, built a platform able to compute information from varying populations and compare microbiome sequencing to get a clear picture of what’s missing in a patient’s flora for overall health.
The next step is to use the raised funds to launch a product for the management of Type 2 Diabetes.
Many of the prescription diabetes medications out on the market today can come with a load of side effects like upset stomach, dizziness, rashes or inability to consume alcohol. However, Whole Biome says their product will not have any side effects.
Slated for release in early 2020, the startup has conducted double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trials for a product, which releases special probiotics into your gut with the goal of reducing glucose spikes.
“Whole Biome is creating novel, disease-targeting microbiome interventions that have the potential to improve the course of many of the significant health issues facing people today,” said Sequoia partner Roelof Botha. “They have built an integrated approach and a multi-disciplinary team across research, development and commercialization to unlock complex microbiome biology and create products with both clinical efficacy and unparalleled safety.”
To date, Whole Biome has now raised $57 million in funding.
-
Entertainment6 days ago
Summer Movie Preview: From ‘Alien’ and ‘Furiosa’ to ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’
-
Business7 days ago
Petlibro’s new smart refrigerated wet food feeder is what your cat deserves
-
Entertainment5 days ago
What’s on the far side of the moon? Not darkness.
-
Business5 days ago
How Rubrik’s IPO paid off big for Greylock VC Asheem Chandna
-
Business6 days ago
Thoma Bravo to take UK cybersecurity company Darktrace private in $5B deal
-
Business4 days ago
TikTok faces a ban in the US, Tesla profits drop and healthcare data leaks
-
Business4 days ago
London’s first defense tech hackathon brings Ukraine war closer to the city’s startups
-
Business6 days ago
Zomato’s quick commerce unit Blinkit eclipses core food business in value, says Goldman Sachs