Human Microbiome Market

Market Overview

The global human microbiome market size was valued at USD 144.9 million in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 1.3 billion by 2032, registering a CAGR of 27.8% during the forecast period of 2024–2032. Increased industry-institute partnerships, rising incidence of lifestyle diseases, rising focus on human microbiome therapeutics, and growing technology developments in metagenomics and next-generation sequencing are all key factors driving the human microbiome market share.

The human microbiome is the genetic material of all microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses, and archaea) that live in and on the human body. These microorganisms live in various anatomical areas, including the skin, mouth cavity, gastrointestinal system, respiratory tract, and urogenital tract. The human microbiome is essential for good health because it aids digestion, nutritional absorption, immune system control, metabolism, and pathogen prevention.

Increased knowledge of prebiotics and probiotics and their importance in preventative health measures is projected to fuel human microbiome market growth. The market is predicted to develop because of an increasing elderly population and the rising prevalence of lifestyle diseases such as cancer and autoimmune disorders. The government provides money to developing countries' healthcare infrastructure for more extensive programs such as the 'Human Microbiome Project' and 'the Earth Microbiome.' These more significant initiatives allow market participants to research and develop new products in the human microbiome, which will drive market expansion over the forecast period.

Highlights

• Drugs account for the largest share of the market by product.
• Therapeutics influenced market growth by application.
• Infectious disease contributes significantly to the market by disease type.

Market Dynamics

Global Human Microbiome Market Drivers

Increasing Prevalence of Chronic Diseases

The growing prevalence of chronic diseases like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and allergies has sparked interest in microbiome-based therapies for disease prevention, management, and therapy. The human microbiome influences immunological responses, metabolic processes, and inflammatory pathways involved in various disorders. In 2023, the prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is expected to be 825 per 100,000, compared to 410 for Crohn's disease and 414 for ulcerative colitis and IBD-u. According to a 2023 article in the Indian Journal of Gastroenterology, more than 0.3% of the world's population suffers from IBD. Between 1990 and 2019, the number of people with IBD rose from 3.3 million to 4.9 million.

Similarly, the World Obesity Atlas 2023 estimates that 38% of the world's population, or 3.12 billion individuals, are overweight or obese. This is a massive increase over the 2008 rate of 23.9%, which affected 1.63 billion people. The World Obesity Atlas 2023 also projects that more than half of the global population, or 51%, will be overweight or obese during the next 12 years. The growing understanding of the relationship between the microbiome and chronic diseases has fueled investment and innovation in the human microbiome sector. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are working on microbiome-targeted therapies and diagnostics for illnesses like IBD, obesity, diabetes, and autoimmune disorders. Furthermore, academic research institutions and start-ups are investigating microbiome-based methods for disease prevention, customized medicine, and precision healthcare.

Global Human Microbiome Market Restraints

Complexity of Microbiome

The human microbiome is highly complex, including trillions of bacteria with many interactions and functions. Understanding this diversity presents considerable hurdles for academics and healthcare practitioners, including problems describing microbial populations, determining their functional roles, and discovering meaningful links between health and disease. The gut microbiome, one of the most thoroughly researched microbial ecosystems in the human body, is incredibly diverse and complicated. It comprises hundreds of bacterial species, fungi, viruses, and archaea, all contributing to the ecosystem. According to research, the composition of the gut microbiome can vary significantly between individuals, depending on factors such as nutrition, lifestyle, genetics, and environmental exposures.

Furthermore, the gut microbiome demonstrates functional redundancy, meaning many bacterial species can perform comparable or overlapping tasks. This redundancy enhances the microbiome's resilience to environmental perturbations while complicating efforts to identify specific microbial contributions to host health and disease. Identifying essential microbial species and their functional roles necessitates integrative investigations incorporating metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metabolomics, and other omics methods. Different anatomical regions inside the human body support distinct microbial populations, each tailored to its unique milieu. The oral microbiome's composition, diversity, and functional features differ significantly from the gut microbiome's. This site-specific heterogeneity complicates microbiome research, necessitating specialized study designs and analytical methodologies.

Global Human Microbiome Market Opportunity

Expanding Application in Healthcare

Understanding the human microbiome's significance in health and disease has created new potential for microbiome-based therapies in various medical professions. From gastrointestinal and metabolic problems to dermatological and neurological disorders, there is a growing interest in developing microbiome-targeted medicines, diagnostics, and preventive methods. The gut microbiome is essential for gastrointestinal health, and dysbiosis has been linked to various digestive illnesses, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and colorectal cancer. A meta-analysis published in Gastroenterology found that people with IBD have less microbial diversity and a different abundance of particular bacterial taxa than healthy people. A Folia Microbiol paper published in 2023 investigates the gut microbiome's significance in establishing precision medicine solutions for treating microbial imbalance-induced colon cancer. 

In addition, the skin microbiome is essential for maintaining skin health and immunological function. Skin microbiome dysbiosis has been associated with several dermatological diseases, including acne, eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea. For example, research has revealed that changes in the composition of the skin microbiome, such as an overgrowth of specific bacterial species, might lead to the development of acne vulgaris. According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, therapies aimed at dysbiosis may aid in treating and preventing hair loss. 

Furthermore, a recent study found that changes in the skin's biophysical characteristics are connected with changes in the skin microbiota as we age. The researchers believe that species, strains, and gene content interact with the biophysical properties of the skin as it ages. The movement or dispersion of collagen molecules in the extracellular matrix is related to the composition and functional potential of the skin microbiome. This includes the prevalence of bacterial strains seen in nosocomial infections (those originating in a hospital) and the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant genes.

Regional Analysis

Global human microbiome market analysis is conducted in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America.

North America Dominates the Global Market

North America is the most significant global human microbiome market shareholder and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 27.7% over the forecast period. The international human microbiome market is predicted to expand rapidly in the coming years due to the high frequency of orthopedic illnesses and dysfunctions, attractive health reimbursements, and increased awareness. The rising frequency of lifestyle diseases such as cancer and autoimmune disorders is driving North America's growth in the human microbiome market. For example, in March 2022, according to a 2023 study, one in every 100 Americans had inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The study also predicts that 2.4 million Americans have IBD, with up to 56,000 additional cases identified each year. IBD is most common among white Americans and in the Northeastern United States. 

In addition, the region's increasing disease burden is also driving market expansion. For example, the American Cancer Society projects that around 1,918,030 new cancer cases will be reported in the United States in 2022. According to Globocan 2020 figures, there are 274,364 new instances of cancer, which is anticipated to increase to 400,564 new cases by 2040. Thus, the increasing cancer burden will likely boost market expansion since the gut microbiota regulates tumor therapy, raising patient susceptibility to immunotherapy and lowering chemotherapeutic agent side effects.

Moreover, the increasing number of research projects and regulatory support for the inquiry are helping to drive the market in the region. For example, in February 2022, 4D Pharma plc gained FDA approval for investigational new drug (IND) applications for two Live Biotherapeutics, MRx0005 and MRx0029, to treat Parkinson's disease. Such approvals are expected to boost market growth. 

Europe is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 28.0% over the forecast period. Europe is expected to rise by 30% over the projection period. Germany is an emerging market in Europe for the human microbiome. Europe's market share is estimated to increase throughout the forecast period due to extensive research and development of novel human microbiome-based applications. For example, according to NCBI, new microbiome projects such as ONCOBIOME, MICROB-predict, and GEMMA will focus on oncology, human microbiota mapping, and autism spectrum disorders, respectively, and are expected to drive market expansion in this region. 

Asia-Pacific is predicted to expand during the projection period due to the increased establishment of institutions researching microbiomes and related domains. For example, in March 2020, the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), a CSIR institute, will lead the Genomics for Public Health in India, popularly known as the IndiGen initiative. It intends to enroll 20,000 Indians in whole genome sequencing over the next few years to create a more extensive database. The data will be critical for developing expertise, baseline data, and indigenous capacity in the rising field of precision medicine. 

Furthermore, the rising prevalence of illnesses affecting quality of life and growth in the healthcare industry may drive market expansion. The market in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa is now in its early stages due to slower acceptance rates of new improvements, and it generally follows trends seen in more established regions.

Segmental Analysis

The global human microbiome market is segmented based on product, application, and disease type.

The market is further segmented by product into prebiotics, probiotics, drugs, and medical foods.

The drug segment accounted for more than 40% of total revenue in 2023. Microbiome-targeted medications are pharmacological chemicals that aim to change the composition or function of the human microbiome to treat or prevent specific diseases or ailments. These medications may exert therapeutic effects by acting directly on microbial populations or microbial metabolites in the gut microbiota. Antibiotics, which selectively kill harmful bacteria, and microbial metabolite modulators, which change the production of metabolites with health-promoting or disease-modifying qualities, are two examples of microbiome-targeted medications. Microbiome-targeted medications are being explored for various applications, including gastrointestinal ailments, metabolic diseases, and immune-mediated problems.

Probiotics are live bacteria that can provide health advantages when taken in sufficient quantities. These beneficial bacteria populate the stomach and interact with the human immune system, regulating inflammatory responses and promoting gastrointestinal health. Antibiotics, nutrition, and stress can all disturb the gut microbiome. Therefore, probiotics can help restore microbial balance. Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Saccharomyces are among the most common probiotic strains. Probiotic products include capsules, tablets, powders, and fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, and kimchi. 

By application, the market can be further bifurcated into diagnostics and therapeutics.

The therapeutics sector accounted for the largest market share in 2023 and is expected to grow at a considerable CAGR in the coming years. Therapeutics in the human microbiome market include creating and using microbiome-targeted interventions to prevent, manage, or treat diseases or ailments. Microbiome therapy aims to improve health and reduce dysbiosis symptoms by modulating the microbiome's composition, diversity, and function. 

Additionally, the segment's growth is primarily due to increased R&D spending on microbiome-based therapies and technological improvements, boosting segment growth. As a result of technological and scientific developments in mapping the human genome and the introduction of omics technologies, the diagnostics sector is expected to grow at the fastest rate per application.

Diagnostics in the human microbiome market entail identifying, characterizing, and evaluating microbial communities found in various anatomical regions of the human body. Microbiome diagnostics use modern sequencing technologies, bioinformatics tools, and analytical techniques to investigate the microbiome's composition, diversity, and functional properties and its relationship to health and disease. 

The market is fragmented into metabolic, infectious, and endocrine categories based on disease type.

Infectious diseases are caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites that are harmful microbes. The human microbiome helps the host defend against diseases by competing for resources and colonization sites, generating antimicrobial chemicals, and influencing immune responses. Dysbiosis in the microbiome can alter host-microbe interactions and increase infection susceptibility. Supplements with probiotic strains or prebiotic fibers promote the growth of good bacteria and immunological function, lowering the risk of infection, promoting recovery from sickness, and transferring healthy donor microbiota to restore microbial balance and treat recurring illnesses like Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI).

Endocrine diseases, on the other hand, are characterized by abnormal hormone secretion and function, which affect a variety of physiological processes and organ systems. The gut microbiota has been linked to endocrine activities such as hormone metabolism, hunger regulation, and stress response. Gut microbiome dysbiosis has been linked to endocrine illnesses, including obesity, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and adrenal insufficiency.

Recent Developments

• January 2024: AOBiome and Maruho signed an exclusive license agreement for a novel therapeutic for treating atopic dermatitis in Japan.
• November 2023: Enterome's OncoMimicsTM immunotherapy EO2401 significantly improved survival rates in recurrent glioblastoma.