Page 72 - Forbes - Africa (March 2020)

FORBES AFRICA
THE TREND

HARP PAINS SHOT THROUGH

THE PATIENT’S STOMACH, likedigestiveailmentsandfoodallergiestosurprisingoneslike

AND HE HAD CONSTANT cancerandautism.Amicrobiome-deriveddrugisalreadyinthe
SDIARRHEA. SEVEN ROUNDS OF workstopreventchildhoodasthma.
Putcrudely,theideaistousegutbugsasdrugs.Morethan
ANTIBIOTICS OVER 18 MONTHS HAD 50,000scientificpapersinthelastfiveyearshaveexploredthe

ONLY MADE HIM FEEL WORSE. microbiome’seffects.Variouskindsofgutbacteriaappearto

A PREVIOUSLY HEALTHY MAN IN stimulateorsuppressimmuneresponsesinthebody,while
HIS 20S WHO WISHES TO REMAIN othersseemtofightoffdisease-causingmicrobes.Agroundswell
ofcutting-edgeresearchhasthepotentialtodeliveraburstof
ANONYMOUS, HE HAD CONTRACTED newtherapiesthatwillvastlyreducehumansuffering—and

A RECURRING CASE OF CLOSTRIDIUM generatehugepaydaysforthefield’spioneers.
Whenscientiststransferredgutmicrobiomecellsfromobese
DIFFICILE, OR C. DIFF, AFTER HAVING miceintoleanones,therecipientsgainedweight.Inonestudy,
HIS GALLBLADDER REMOVED IN 2012. melanomapatientswiththemostdiversemicrobiomeshadthe

HOSPITAL PATIENTS ARE PRONE TO C. bestresponsetoimmunotherapy.Andmiceinjectedwithgut

DIFF SINCE ANTIBIOTIC TREATMENT bacteriafrommarathonrunnersranlongerdistances.Anew
drugforobesityalonecouldbeworthmorethan$20billion.
FOR OTHER MALADIES DECIMATES Sofar,themostcompellingmicrobiome-derivedtherapy

THE INFECTION FIGHTING CAPACITY isalivefecaltransplantforC.diff,whichstrikeshalfamillion

OF WHAT SCIENTISTS CALL THE GUT Americansannually,killing15,000.In2013,theNewEngland
JournalofMedicinepublishedapaperthatcaughtthescientific
MICROBIOME, THE TRILLIONS OF communitybysurpriseandjump-startedinvestmentin
CELLS THAT MOVE THROUGH THE microbiomedrugdevelopment.Inarandomizedtrial,94%

HUMAN DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. “IT DIDN’T ofrecurrentC.diffpatientsrecoveredafterreceivingfecal
transplants.Toputthatincontext,cancerdrugswithefficacy
JUST AFFECT MY GUT,” HE SAYS. “I ratesaslowas10%havebeenapprovedbytheFDA.
WAS EXHAUSTED ALL THE TIME. I HAD Billionsofdollarsarepouringintomicrobiomemedicine.

REALLY BAD BRAIN FOG. I COULDN’T GbolaAmusa,amedicaldoctorandpartneratChardan,a
healthcare-focusedinvestmentbankinNewYork,pegsthe
CONCENTRATE.” totalamountinvestedsince2014atmorethan$5billion.Techie
billionairesincludingBillGates,SalesforcefounderMarcBenioff
Desperate,heresearchedpossibletherapiesanddiscovered andSiliconValleyventurecapitalistVinodKhoslaarefunding

articlesaboutfecaltransplantswipingouttheinfection.But microbiomestartups,andGates,BenioffandMarkZuckerberg
hisgastroenterologistrefusedtoperformtheprocedure.Sohe haveallmadedonationstosupportmicrobiomeresearchat
tookmattersintohisownhands.Heaskedhisroommateto institutionsincludingStanford,WashingtonUniversityinSt.
supplyastoolsample,boughtanenemakitfromCVS,pulsed LouisandtheUniversityofCalifornia,SanFrancisco.
themixtureinablender,straineditthroughacoffeefilterand TheraceisonforFDAapprovalofthefirstdrugmade
pumpeditintohisgut.Asthoughawizardhadcastaspell,he fromgutbacteria.Butthescienceisyoungandunproven.At
madeafullrecoverywithindays. OppenheimerinNewYork,MarkBreidenbachsaysinvestor
Welcometothemostpromisingnewfrontierinmedicine: enthusiasminmicrobiomecompaniesisonadownswing
poop.Byfocusingonwhat’scomingoutofpatients’rearends, because“thereisnoconsensusaboutwhatthemicrobiomecan
agrowingbodyofscientificresearchoverthelast15yearshas do.”
highlightedthecrucialrolethemicrobiomeplaysinhuman Amusaismorebullish.“Thescienceisturning,”hesays.
health.Thatnewunderstandingcouldleadtobreakthrough “Whenitcomesthroughwithproof,thesebiotechcompanies
treatments for a huge range of illnesses, from obvious ones will be worth not hundreds of millions of dollars, but billions.”

68 | FORBES AFRICA MARCH 2020 FORBESAFRICA.COM