AnimalBiome is a company that uses microbiome research and products to help pet owners regain control of their pets' chronic GI issues by using advanced genomic sequencing and data analytics. When we spoke with the company in January, they had sequenced just over 10,000 samples. Today, the California start-up has 25,000 cat and dog fecal samples, boasting the largest pet microbiome dataset in the world.
“Today we're launching DoggyBiome ImmuneShield and this is what they call a functional treat. It's a chew that you can give your dog three or four times a day and it contains a really important new ingredient called EpiCor which is a postbiotic that has been shown to boost the immune system of dogs and reduce skin issues and also increase gut health, so we're really excited to bring it to market,” said Carlton Osborne, CEO AnimalBiome.
Another product AnimlBiome debuted at SupplySide West is S. Boo (saccharomyces boulardii), a product for both cats and dogs.
“This is a yeast-based probiotic that has been shown to reduce diarrhea and soft stool and it works in humans and it also works in pets, but we're really the first company to bring it to market and properly dose it for pets and in a powder form, so it's easy to sprinkle over,” explained Osborne.
Osborne also mentioned GMP—but not the GMP we typically discuss.
“So we call it a Gut Maintenance Plus and it's a product that we brought to market last year partnering with Deerland Probiotics and Enzymes, and the main active ingredient is PreforPro, and PreForPro is a cocktail of bacteriophages. These are viruses that target specific bacteria and in this case E coli. Deerland developed it for the human market, for travelers' diarrhea, but we found that it's actually also helpful for cats and dogs who have chronic GI problems,” said Osborne. “So we have been recommending another product for years and decided to create our own product that was properly dosed for cats and dogs, but also had S. Boo in it to address that diarrhea problem, and we've been seeing great results with it. And we now have veterinarians starting to stock it in their clinics and offering it instead of reaching for antibiotics.”
According to the latest research study by InsightAce Analytic, the global animal microbiome market is expected to grow at CAGR of 7.6%.
This market's major driving factors include the improving techniques and strategies for modifying the microbiome, growing awareness about antibiotic-free animal products, increasing meat consumption worldwide, rising use of microbes to enhance animal production, increasing R&D activities for animal health improvement, and surging consciousness among pet owners about pet’s health.
In August 2021, Cargill invested in AnimalBiome to accelerate the production of new products and insights in the pet microbiome modulation space.
