Savills plc
Savills plc
08/16/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/16/2022 02:04
A gut feeling suggests that microbiomes will help fuel the growth of the UK life science sector
The last two years have shone a spotlight on the strength and depth of the UK's science market, with the continued growth of many of its sub-sectors driving real estate requirements, one of which is microbiome-based therapies.
The introduction of genetic sequencing techniques in recent years has illuminated the numerous microorganisms that live in the human gut. Research has linked microbes to diseases such as type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Alzheimer's and various cancers. Consequently, technologies have emerged responding to these scientific developments.
Pitchbook data has recorded more than £200 million of investment into this sub-sector in the past eight years. What's more, a recent report published by Savills, in conjunction with Beauhurst, highlighted eight active high-growth companies specifically focusing on microbiome-based therapies all expanding, and, as a result, looking for more laboratory space.
So what are microbiome-based therapies?
Although we tend to think of all microbes, such as bacteria and viruses, as dangerous for our health, in reality microbial cells on and in our bodies outnumber human cells by a factor of 10 and contain at least 10 times more DNA than our own genome. In fact, some now consider the human body a 'superorganism', a communal group of human and microbial cells all working for the benefit of the collective.
The microbes that live on our skin and in our gut and nose are known as the microbiome providing functions essential for human survival. This has become a focus for scientific research over the last few years and has given rise to the Human Microbiome Project. As our knowledge of the microbiome increases it has become clear that it is of huge importance in a wide array of human processes such as growth, development, physiology, immunity, nutrition and diseases.
For example, bacteria that colonise our gut allow us to digest food and absorb nutrients that would otherwise be unavailable. Research on the microbiome is now progressing at pace exploring potential treatment for a number of these enteric diseases.
However, one of the major challenges for the field is how to develop products that can be manufactured to meet current regulatory and safety requirements for widespread commercial use.
Indeed, the growing number of companies needing manufacturing space in the UK, not just for microbiomes but areas such as cell and gene therapies and vaccine production, represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the real estate sector in part due to the specialist nature and high costs of developing these facilities.
There are now several well-funded companies that have been established to focus on the commercialisation of this technology. They have been able to isolate and culture individual bacteria form healthy subjects and develop 'panels' that can be produced using modern manufacturing techniques.
These products have now demonstrated efficacy in pre-clinical models for several targets such as IBD, gut repair and immune-oncology. This ultimately could represent a paradigm shift in the treatment of many of these diseases in the future, possibly replacing some of the conventional drugs that we use today.
As such, there are now a number of academic institutions focusing on the commercial application of this emerging sub-sector. Including Oxford University's Centre for Microbiome Studies, King's College London, Liverpool University, Imperial College London and Birmingham University's Microbiome Treatment Centre. All of these locations, particularly those outside of the golden triangle, show significant potential for the growth of new clusters.