Switzerland’s Ferring is diving deep into the microbiome, looking at a range of potential therapy platforms including bacteriophage and probiotics. Its CSO believes a microbiome-based therapeutic approach could benefit dermatological and women’s health conditions, as well as gastro-intestinal disorders.

Israel’s RondinX is analyzing the microbiome with specific algorithms in order to develop new therapeutic approaches to disease.

The Switzerland-based company targets a novel therapeutic area still small enough for it to make a difference, the development of bacteriophage therapies for disorders thought to be associated with abnormal bacterial microflora, with proof-of-principle studies to begin later this year.

Phico is developing bacteriophage to deliver antibacterial-based drugs for treating antibiotic-resistant and other bacterial infections. But unlike others using bacteriophage themselves to attack bacteria, Phico's technology employs bacteriophage as the vehicle for delivering a protein that shuts down bacterial activity.