SG healthcare firms bank on stool samples to help with gut disorders

Singapore-based healthcare company Cordlife has announced a partnership with microbiome firm Amili to launch a gut microbiome banking service in the country.

Amili staff homogenizing a gut microbiome sample / Photo credit: Amili

Amili CEO and co-founder Dr. Jeremy Lim explained that the gut microbiome is a community of trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that reside in our digestive tract, primarily in the large intestine.

While some bacteria cause diseases, others are essential for our immune system, heart, weight, and other health factors, Dr. Lim adds.

The larger objective of the partnership is to deploy a new approach to tackle diseases such as colorectal cancer, autism spectrum disorder, and obesity.

With the partnership, the two companies plan to leverage the other party’s expertise and aim to help people in Singapore store their gut microbiome for future fecal microbiota transplants (FMT).

FMT is the process of transferring a healthy microbiome from one person into the gastrointestinal tract of a patient to achieve a microbial balance.

The gut microbiome banking, similar to egg or stem cell banking, will help individuals cryopreserve the best version of their gut microbiome.

Stool samples being cryogenically stored at Amili’s lab/Photo credit: Amili

People can choose to withdraw their samples whenever they need them, though they can only store their microbiome for 10 years at the facility. The service is available for S$5,500 (US$ 3,966).

Lim said that FMT is currently used only for treating Clostridioides difficile infection and has a cure rate of up to 90%.

However, there are more than 300 clinical trials on the role of the gut microbiome in more than 60 conditions, including allergies, immune system functions, metabolism, autism, and dementia, Lim added.

Currency converted from Singaporean dollar to US dollar: US$1 = S$1.38.