Startups

Microbiome modeling with Gusto

Despite many ambitious efforts to modulate the human microbiome, our knowledge of this microscopic world remains extremely limited. A new University of Chicago spin-out, Gusto, wants to change that with a computational modeling platform that can predict how different bacteria operate, what they do, and how they interact in a given ecosystem.

Illustration about Gut Bacteria

Launching with a name like Gusto, the newest kid on the microbiome block needs to bring something different and energizing to the table.

That is the plan, according to cofounder Jack Gilbert, a professor of surgery at the University of Chicago.

Spun out of the University’s new Microbiome Center, Gusto has licensed a string of technologies with an aim to address the ongoing challenges in the industry. Seres Therapeutics was one of the largest casualties, dropping the ball in a critical Phase 2 trial in 2016. 

In a phone interview, Gilbert said there has been a lack of understanding the interactions within the microbial ecosystem, a problem the company’s Gust+ platform attempts to address.

“It is extremely difficult to work with bacteria in general because they are so diverse,” Gilbert said. “So when Seres, for example, is looking to create a microbial formulation that will outcompete clostridium difficile and reset the gut environment, they’re trying to engineer the ecology of the gut with very little understanding of the mechanism of action that drives each organism and how they interact with each other and the gut environment they find themselves in.”

Gilbert, an ecologist by training, teamed up with experts in culturing and computational modeling to create the Gust+ platform. If successful, it could bring a methodical approach to predicting how different species and subspecies of bacteria interact in different conditions. Gusto is also pursuing smart packaging and delivery technologies to release the bacteria in the right place at the right time.

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Gusto Cofounder Jack Gilbert

There are no plans to license the Gust+ platform at this stage, Gilbert said, but the company is pursuing two of its own therapies. The first is an immunotherapy approach to the prevention and treatment of surgical site infections.

After surgery or trauma, bacteria sometimes find their way into vital organs such as the kidneys, lungs or liver. With the right nutrients and conditions, the bacteria rapidly proliferate and trigger an immune reaction.

Gilbert likened the body’s response to a ‘carpet-bombing’ — the whole body is affected by the spike in temperature and potentially fatal complications.

Gusto’s probiotic would prevent this by modulating the immune system with target bacteria to allow for a more controlled response. The patient’s immune system would then have a much clearer target and a prepared response if the bacteria present a risk post-surgery.

A second therapy is in the works for allergies, Gilbert said, optimized using the same Gust+ platform.

A Series A financing round is underway, to be led by Gusto’s CEO and cofounder John Fennebresque. Fennebresque is a founder of the investment banking firm Fennebresque & Co.

The company has big plans, but they are also early-stage. It remains to be seen whether they can truly propel the sector forward.

Photo: TLFurrer, Getty Images 

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