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The Health of Silicon Valley's health disruptors amid uBiome bankruptcy

Nov

21

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In the wake of uBiome's filing for Chapter 11 and then closing its doors on October 31, 2019, it's timely to review the status of startups in healthcare.

The uBiome bankruptcy appears to be a mere hiccup due to mismanagement, although this year's health startups were largely health services such as cloud services. Apertiva and ChronicCareIQ topped the 2019 list of CIO magazine. Also making the list were other Saas health tech companies Duxlink Tele-Hospital, a platform that integrates clinical data with wearable tech and remote access. Finpay also tops the list as a financial management platform. The range of services is capped off by PatientPop which bills itself as a complete practice growth solution for health practitioners.

Health service startups aside, disruptors in healthcare include well known entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg’s $600 million funded biotechnology center in Silicon Valley.

Biohub made a big splash a few years ago. BioHub’s premier project is to create a vast directory of human cells, which it calls a “cell atlas.” (source: Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review, October 31, 2016). Stanford researcher and BioHub Co-President Steven Quake and BioHub are also part of a consortium of researchers around the globe who are collaborating to map the millions of cells in the human body. Scientists at BioHub and elsewhere are inspecting tens of millions of human cells for their molecular signatures, among other things, to track the body’s specific immune system responses to different treatments such as radiation.

Like other venture funded companies collecting gut samples (Viome), uBiome claimed a database of nearly 100,000 gut samples collected from its early adopter consumers the company refers to as “citizen scientists”, according to a 2016 TechCrunch article (Sara Buhr, November 01, 2016). “The GI tract is teeming with bacteria and research suggests the wrong kind may play a role in diabetes, multiple sclerosis, cancer, liver disease, obesity, irritable bowel syndrome and a number of other maladies.”
Apparantly the company owed millions of dollars to insurance companies related to illegal billing practices for which they are under criminal investigation, according to a Business Insider article (see https://www.businessinsider.com/microbiome-startup-ubiome-files-for-bankruptcy-2019-9 ). It appears the company seeks to come out of bankruptcy with new management.

UBiome features a new SmartGut screening test kit that you can buy online for an estimated $89 which aims to identify “dozens of microbial genera and species” using a 16S rRNA gene sequencing method. However, the 16s rRNA gene sequencing is a twenty year old technology that offers very limited insights and is prone to inaccuracies, claims competitor company CEO Viome's Naveen Jain.
The above example are just a snapshot of disruptive innovators in the healthcare space.

How Does Ultraviolet Light Influence Our Gut Microbiome?

Oct

27

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According to an October 24, 2019 report by various departments of the University of British Columbia Hospital and medical centers in Vancouver, BC., the recent worldwide rise in immune and inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) has been linked to decreased exposure to sunlight/UVB light and production of vitamin D, as well as changes in gut microbiome.

Their research found that Vitamin D deficiency has shown to promote an inflammatory environment which leads to dysbiosis, an imbalance in the gut microbiome. By exposing the skin to Narrow Band Ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) light to increase vitamin D levels, the makeup of the human intestinal microbiota improves. Studies support the concept that UVB light is beneficial to health, beyond its ability to promote cutaneous vitamin D production. This report found significant effect on the microbiota composition after repeated exposures, specifically for subjects that were not taking vitamin D supplements. Keystone species such as Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcus, and Clostridiaeae strains were notably affected. (See UBC report, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.02410/full )

Health Tech Startups Reach Unicorn, Other Milestones; UCSD Funding

Oct

13

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Venture funded food app companies such as 23andme started out as a genetics ancestry DNA health kit seller and recently expanded or pivoted to include offering meals based on your gut microbiome. Wired Magazine reported in its March 2019 issue (page 13) about the “Green Giants“, the first unicorn food platforms, SweetGarden and Joe and the Juice.

These companies are a sign that the VC and investment community are taking the emerging health tech market seriously. Livongo and Health Catalyst are two notable health tech companies who had successful IPOs in July 2019. Livongo is a platform that helps people manage their diabetes. Health Catalyst is a health data research company.

While health tech companies have trended toward two key tech related research areas – genomics (e.g., Illumina, Helix, LAM Therapeutics) and microbiome gut research (e.g., Finch Therapeutics, Second Genome, Gingko Bioworks, and Viome) – there remains a high demand for tracking and implementing those and other trends.

Health entrepreneurs can lay the groundwork for successful runs by teaming up with the world’s leading health research institutions to incubate and provide for the ongoing breakthroughs and innovations happening in the industry. Fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, UC San Diego pulled in $1.35 billion in research contracts and grants, breaking funding records according to October 07, 2019 article by the San Diego Tribune (see https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/science/story/2019-10-07/uc-san-diego-shatters-record-for-research-funding-pulling-in-1-35-bi?_amp=true). Microbiome research was key to its success, according to the Tribune article quoting Dr. David Brenner, UCSD’s vice chancellor for health sciences. The hiring of world leading microbiome expert Rob Knight four years ago suggests UCSD aims to become a world leader in microbiome research and appears well on its way.