microbiome
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The $7.3 Billion Company You Can't Buy Stock In
Two friends from Michigan turned a biodegradable cleaner and a handshake into the world's biggest direct-selling company. Seven decades later, Amway still refuses to sell a single share.
Vertero Therapeutics, Inc.
Vertero Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company in Woburn, Massachusetts, developing oral small-molecule drugs for neurodegenerative diseases by targeting causative drivers in the body's periphery - primarily the gut - rather than only the brain. Formerly Axial Therapeutics, the company rebranded as Vertero in October 2025. Its lead candidate, VT-5006, is a gut-selective small molecule for Parkinson's disease that targets CsgA, a bacterial protein linked to protein aggregation and neuroinflammation, and is entering Phase 1 trials.
Floré
Floré, built by San Diego biotech Sun Genomics, makes probiotics the slow way: you mail in a stool sample, an accredited lab reads the whole genome of your gut microbiome, and an algorithm trained on tens of thousands of prior formulations builds a supplement matched to the bacteria you actually carry. Founded in 2016 by former Illumina and LabCorp genomicist Sunny Jain, the company sells a subscription that re-tests and re-formulates over time, and has published peer-reviewed research pairing its precision synbiotics with gut and autism-spectrum outcomes.
Siolta Therapeutics
Siolta Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company spun out of UCSF that develops defined-consortia live biotherapeutic products to prevent and treat diseases rooted in a disrupted microbiome. Its lead program, STMC-103H, is an oral multi-strain therapy aimed at preventing atopic diseases such as atopic dermatitis and food allergy in newborns, built on the company's proprietary Precision Symbiotics Platform.
BodyBio
BodyBio is a family-owned, third-generation supplement company based in Millville, New Jersey that builds health at the cellular level. Founded in 1998 by biochemist Ed Kane, it grew out of a blood-chemistry diagnostics practice into a maker of phospholipid, electrolyte and short-chain fatty acid products - most notably BodyBio PC (phosphatidylcholine) and e-lyte electrolyte concentrate - manufactured in-house and sold to consumers and to a network of more than 35,000 healthcare practitioners.
Playground
Playground is a female-founded sexual wellness brand making clean, vegan, water-based personal lubricants and intimacy products intentionally formulated for women. Its FDA-cleared, clinically tested formulas blend adaptogens like ashwagandha with skincare-grade ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, vitamin E and bamboo extract to support vaginal health while boosting libido. Co-founded with pop icon Christina Aguilera as Chief Brand Advisor, Playground raised $2M in seed funding and sells direct-to-consumer plus retail partners including Target.
Primal Health
Primal Health is a Minneapolis-based molecular biotechnology company reinventing oral care by rebalancing the microbiome instead of nuking it. Founded by Berkeley-trained microbiologist Dr. Emily Stein, the company uses its patented SMMRT (Selective Microbial Metabolism Regulation Technology) to put harmful mouth bacteria on a 'keto diet' - blocking their ability to feed on sugars while feeding the beneficial ones. Its two brands, Daily Dental Care for people and TEEF for Life for pets, deliver clinically studied lozenges and prebiotic powders that support gum health, fresher breath and a healthier oral ecosystem for humans and animals alike.
Tezza Foods
Tezza Foods makes the first dairy-free yogurt that goes spoon-for-spoon with Greek yogurt. By culturing and straining organic American-grown soymilk, the Oakland-based company turns whole soybeans into a thick, high-protein yogurt with the protein and probiotics of dairy Greek yogurt - plus fiber and omega-3s - using about 90% less land, water and emissions than dairy. Founded in 2019 by MIT-trained microbiome scientist Nathaniel Chu and Josh Moser, Tezza is a public benefit corporation built on the idea that the world's most nutritious and sustainable protein should be the one we all eat.
Concerto Biosciences
Concerto Biosciences is a Cambridge, Massachusetts microbiome company that turns microbial ecology into health products. Its patented kChip platform screens millions of microbial interactions in nanoliter droplets to discover 'ensembles' - small, defined groups of microbes that work together to shepherd a damaged microbial community back to health. The company's lead program, ENS-002, is a topical live biotherapeutic for atopic dermatitis that suppresses Staphylococcus aureus without nuking the skin's helpful microbes. Founded in 2020 by scientists out of MIT and the Broad Institute, Concerto pairs ultra-high-throughput biology with AI to make microbial communities predictable and engineerable.
one.bio
one.bio is a Sacramento biotechnology company that releases short-chain plant fibers and makes them flavorless, odorless, colorless and water-soluble so they can be added to food and drinks at high doses without changing taste or texture. Spun out of UC Davis, it pairs a fiber-mapping knowledgebase called the Glycopedia with a proprietary depolymerization process to turn long-chain plant carbohydrates - including agricultural byproducts - into bioactive fibers that feed the microbiome and support metabolic and immune health. The company raised a $27M Series A in December 2024 and in early 2026 launched its discovery platform, its first clinically validated ingredient (one.bio 01) and a consumer brand, GoodVice.
Bloom Science, Inc.
Bloom Science is a San Diego clinical-stage biotech translating the biology of the ketogenic diet into oral live biotherapeutics that act through the gut-immune-brain axis. Built on microbiome research licensed from UCLA and powered by its IrisRx discovery platform, the company is developing BL-001, a once-daily bacterial therapy being studied in obesity and in drug-resistant seizures from Dravet syndrome, with a pipeline reaching toward ALS and neurodegenerative disease.
resbiotic
resbiotic is a physician-founded microbiome health company building clinically tested probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, and bioactive botanicals around its Gut-X Axis platform - the idea that the gut talks to the rest of the body. Its flagship resB Lung Support is positioned as the first clinically tested probiotic targeting the gut-lung axis for respiratory health. Founded in 2020 by physician-scientist Dr. C. Vivek Lal out of microbiome research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the company sells direct-to-consumer and through retail including Walmart and GNC, and has raised roughly $20.6M to date.
Biohm Technologies
Biohm Technologies is a Cleveland-based microbiome innovation company that studies the gut as a whole - bacteria and fungi together - rather than bacteria alone. Built on 40+ years of fungal research by Dr. Mahmoud Ghannoum, the scientist who named the mycobiome, Biohm develops data-driven biotic ingredients and gut-health testing solutions. Its flagship ingredient Mycohsa is the first probiotic blend clinically shown to break down digestive biofilms, and its Symbiont discovery platform mines a large bacterial-fungal dataset to design targeted microbiome products. After a B2B pivot in 2024, the company now sells ingredients and microbiome science to nutraceutical and food brands.
OLIPOP
OLIPOP is a prebiotic soda company that turned the soft drink industry on its head by proving that soda can be both delicious and good for your gut. Founded in 2018 by Ben Goodwin and David Lester, the Oakland-based company combines nostalgic flavors with functional ingredients - each can delivers 6-9 grams of prebiotic fiber from plant-based sources like cassava root, chicory root, and nopal cactus. After reaching $400 million in revenue and profitability in 2024, OLIPOP closed a $50 million Series C at a $1.85 billion valuation in 2025, making it the fastest-growing non-alcoholic beverage brand in the United States.