1 00:00:04,050 --> 00:00:06,930 Sean Aylmer: Welcome to the Fear & Greed daily interview. I'm Sean Aylmer. 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:10,379 Sean Aylmer: Some of my favorite interviews on this podcast are the 3 00:00:10,380 --> 00:00:12,990 Sean Aylmer: ones where I know very little about the subject matter 4 00:00:12,990 --> 00:00:16,350 Sean Aylmer: because I'm guaranteed to learn something. I think today's interview 5 00:00:16,350 --> 00:00:20,760 Sean Aylmer: fits into that category. Microba is an Australian biotech company 6 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:25,739 Sean Aylmer: using microbiome science to improve human health. That is, understanding 7 00:00:25,739 --> 00:00:29,880 Sean Aylmer: the links between gut microorganisms and health. And the company 8 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:33,360 Sean Aylmer: has some real heavy hitters behind it, including Professor Ian 9 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:37,589 Sean Aylmer: Frazer AC, known internationally as the inventor of the Gardasil 10 00:00:37,590 --> 00:00:41,400 Sean Aylmer: vaccine. Professor Frazer is a chair of the Medical Advisory 11 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:44,850 Sean Aylmer: Board of Microba. Now, aside from medical innovation, the other 12 00:00:44,850 --> 00:00:47,880 Sean Aylmer: thing that stands out with Microba is that it's part 13 00:00:47,909 --> 00:00:51,720 Sean Aylmer: of the booming medical technology scene in Brisbane. Microba has 14 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:55,110 Sean Aylmer: benefited from the MedTech Accelerator program and initiative of the 15 00:00:55,110 --> 00:00:58,770 Sean Aylmer: Brisbane Economic Development Agency, which is a supporter of this 16 00:00:58,770 --> 00:01:02,370 Sean Aylmer: podcast. Dr. Luke Reid is the CEO of Microba. Luke, 17 00:01:02,700 --> 00:01:03,750 Sean Aylmer: welcome to Fear & Greed. 18 00:01:04,230 --> 00:01:05,700 Luke Reid: Thank you, Sean. I appreciate your time. 19 00:01:06,180 --> 00:01:09,030 Sean Aylmer: Righto. First up, let's start at the beginning. I said 20 00:01:09,030 --> 00:01:13,380 Sean Aylmer: microbiome science and I was hoping that I had pronounced 21 00:01:13,410 --> 00:01:16,200 Sean Aylmer: that correctly. If I'm not sure how to pronounce it, 22 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:19,500 Sean Aylmer: I certainly don't quite understand what it is. Please explain. 23 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:22,380 Luke Reid: I think you did a great job pronouncing that. 24 00:01:22,650 --> 00:01:23,010 Sean Aylmer: Thank you. 25 00:01:23,010 --> 00:01:25,559 Luke Reid: And you were right in your description. We're all about 26 00:01:25,890 --> 00:01:29,039 Luke Reid: the trillions of organisms that live in your gut known 27 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:33,209 Luke Reid: as your gut microbiome, and we believe that they represent 28 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:37,050 Luke Reid: one of the biggest untapped opportunities to improve human health. 29 00:01:37,650 --> 00:01:40,860 Luke Reid: And because of that, we will see microbiome testing and 30 00:01:40,860 --> 00:01:44,160 Luke Reid: therapeutics become a routine part of healthcare. And we believe 31 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:47,640 Luke Reid: at Microba that we have the best technology in the world 32 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:50,460 Luke Reid: to unlock that opportunity. So what we've been doing here 33 00:01:50,670 --> 00:01:54,630 Luke Reid: at Microba, based on that world- leading technology for measuring 34 00:01:55,020 --> 00:02:00,690 Luke Reid: the microbiome is delivering microbiome testing services now globally. We 35 00:02:00,690 --> 00:02:04,140 Luke Reid: ultimately believe that testing those organisms that live in your 36 00:02:04,140 --> 00:02:08,280 Luke Reid: gut will become as routine as a blood test. And 37 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:12,870 Luke Reid: we discover and develop novel therapies from the gut microbiome, 38 00:02:13,470 --> 00:02:16,200 Luke Reid: and we have our first drug candidate about to enter 39 00:02:16,290 --> 00:02:17,519 Luke Reid: a phase one clinical trial. 40 00:02:17,850 --> 00:02:19,440 Sean Aylmer: Okay, we'll get that to that in a moment, but 41 00:02:19,500 --> 00:02:22,470 Sean Aylmer: what are the chronic diseases that you are talking about? 42 00:02:22,470 --> 00:02:23,910 Sean Aylmer: What are these gut diseases? 43 00:02:24,630 --> 00:02:28,080 Luke Reid: So chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and 44 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:32,580 Luke Reid: disability worldwide. They now affect six in ten people. I 45 00:02:32,580 --> 00:02:35,460 Luke Reid: think we all know a loved one that has been 46 00:02:35,460 --> 00:02:41,399 Luke Reid: impacted by the cancer, depression, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, heart 47 00:02:41,460 --> 00:02:43,980 Luke Reid: or another chronic disease. So we're not just talking about 48 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,989 Luke Reid: diseases that center around the gastrointestinal tract. We're actually talking 49 00:02:48,990 --> 00:02:53,070 Luke Reid: about diseases that in impact the whole body. But what 50 00:02:53,070 --> 00:02:56,250 Luke Reid: a lot of people don't appreciate is that gut health 51 00:02:56,340 --> 00:02:59,550 Luke Reid: and more specifically those trillions of organisms that live in 52 00:02:59,550 --> 00:03:03,989 Luke Reid: your gut called your gut microbiome, are actually a key missing 53 00:03:03,990 --> 00:03:07,680 Luke Reid: piece in resolving many of those chronic diseases. And there's 54 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:11,730 Luke Reid: now more than a hundred clinical studies demonstrating that if 55 00:03:11,730 --> 00:03:14,460 Luke Reid: we make changes to that community of organisms in your 56 00:03:14,460 --> 00:03:17,910 Luke Reid: gut, that we can actually change the course of chronic 57 00:03:17,910 --> 00:03:18,959 Luke Reid: disease outcomes. 58 00:03:20,010 --> 00:03:23,850 Sean Aylmer: Wow, that's pretty amazing. So you said you had something in what? 59 00:03:24,030 --> 00:03:28,079 Sean Aylmer: Just explain what you have in testing. What phase testing? 60 00:03:28,530 --> 00:03:32,519 Luke Reid: So we have been building now for around five years 61 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:38,070 Luke Reid: a global data bank of information around people's gut microbiome 62 00:03:38,670 --> 00:03:41,760 Luke Reid: and their state of health or disease. And what we've 63 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:45,300 Luke Reid: been doing is mining that data to understand at an 64 00:03:45,300 --> 00:03:49,590 Luke Reid: entirely new level the differences in those trillions of organisms 65 00:03:49,590 --> 00:03:52,200 Luke Reid: in your gut between those healthy individuals and the diseased 66 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:59,280 Luke Reid: individuals. That's enabled us to discover therapeutic leads for multiple chronic diseases. 67 00:04:00,060 --> 00:04:03,240 Luke Reid: And we've now got a lead drug candidate for ulcerative 68 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:07,200 Luke Reid: colitis, a particular form of inflammatory bowel disease that we 69 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:09,540 Luke Reid: are just preparing to move into a phase one first 70 00:04:09,540 --> 00:04:13,290 Luke Reid: in human clinical trial. So it's really exciting because these 71 00:04:13,350 --> 00:04:17,130 Luke Reid: novel therapies represent natural biology that we are tapping into, 72 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:20,549 Luke Reid: which is representative of what a healthy gut microbiome looks 73 00:04:20,550 --> 00:04:27,359 Luke Reid: like and could represent very safe and novel effective therapies 74 00:04:27,690 --> 00:04:29,970 Luke Reid: for these debilitating chronic conditions. 75 00:04:30,330 --> 00:04:35,010 Sean Aylmer: Luke, pardon of my ignorance here. So an unhealthy gut microbiome 76 00:04:35,550 --> 00:04:40,770 Sean Aylmer: is very possibly an indicator of, well, potentially you can 77 00:04:40,770 --> 00:04:44,520 Sean Aylmer: get quite specific about what that actually indicates in terms 78 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:46,469 Sean Aylmer: of ailments in other parts of the body? 79 00:04:47,070 --> 00:04:51,989 Luke Reid: That's correct. So we have now seen clear signals in 80 00:04:51,990 --> 00:04:58,170 Luke Reid: our data bank that show a really striking association between 81 00:04:58,170 --> 00:05:03,239 Luke Reid: the microbiome and 18 different forms of chronic disease. And 82 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:07,529 Luke Reid: we've seen firsthand through the delivery of microbiome testing services 83 00:05:07,529 --> 00:05:12,510 Luke Reid: now globally, together with a range of medical diagnostic leaders, 84 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:18,539 Luke Reid: that we can measure the microbiome with respect to healthy 85 00:05:18,540 --> 00:05:24,000 Luke Reid: reference ranges. Now we can start to implement diet, lifestyle, 86 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:27,570 Luke Reid: and supplemental change to be able to move that community of organisms 87 00:05:27,570 --> 00:05:30,510 Luke Reid: to a better state of health. And ultimately we will 88 00:05:30,510 --> 00:05:33,990 Luke Reid: get sharper and sharper about how that can be deployed 89 00:05:34,260 --> 00:05:37,110 Luke Reid: in the management and treatment in a range of chronic 90 00:05:37,110 --> 00:05:37,950 Luke Reid: disease settings. 91 00:05:38,430 --> 00:05:40,530 Sean Aylmer: Stay with me, Luke, we'll be back in a minute. 92 00:05:46,710 --> 00:05:50,339 Sean Aylmer: My guest this morning is Dr. Luke Reid, CEO of Microba. 93 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:54,419 Sean Aylmer: The area that you are working in is incredibly exciting 94 00:05:54,660 --> 00:05:57,779 Sean Aylmer: and vast. How important is it to have someone like 95 00:05:57,779 --> 00:06:02,400 Sean Aylmer: Ian Frazer, professor Ian Frazer, involved with a company on 96 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:06,479 Sean Aylmer: two fronts? Obviously he's brilliant, but also his name must 97 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:07,409 Sean Aylmer: help open doors. 98 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:15,150 Luke Reid: Absolutely. Ian firstly is such a kind and generous human 99 00:06:15,150 --> 00:06:19,049 Luke Reid: being. He really is, and he continues to be an 100 00:06:19,050 --> 00:06:24,570 Luke Reid: absolute bedrock of the Brisbane and Queensland MedTech and biotech 101 00:06:24,570 --> 00:06:30,659 Luke Reid: community. He's one of Australia's most distinguished clinical scientists, and 102 00:06:30,660 --> 00:06:33,630 Luke Reid: as many will know, he's the inventor of Gardasil, the 103 00:06:33,630 --> 00:06:37,260 Luke Reid: cervical cancer vaccine, which is now a substantial drug for 104 00:06:37,260 --> 00:06:40,860 Luke Reid: Merck, which did around 7 billion in sales last year. 105 00:06:41,550 --> 00:06:44,849 Luke Reid: So Ian had a relationship with our two professor co- 106 00:06:44,850 --> 00:06:48,960 Luke Reid: founders, professor Phil Hugenholtz, and Professor Gene Tyson. And with 107 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:53,700 Luke Reid: his immunology background, he could see the very clear vision 108 00:06:53,700 --> 00:06:58,500 Luke Reid: and opportunity that our two co- founders saw, that the 109 00:06:58,500 --> 00:07:01,529 Luke Reid: human gut microbiome is one of the most important and 110 00:07:01,529 --> 00:07:05,640 Luke Reid: untapped opportunities to start to advance and make further progress 111 00:07:05,670 --> 00:07:09,000 Luke Reid: in the treatment and management of chronic diseases. And a 112 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,420 Luke Reid: lot of that centers around the interaction between those organisms 113 00:07:12,450 --> 00:07:15,360 Luke Reid: in your gut and how they train and modulate your 114 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:18,450 Luke Reid: immune system. So that was really the connection for Ian 115 00:07:18,660 --> 00:07:21,390 Luke Reid: and where his background comes in. But he was a 116 00:07:21,390 --> 00:07:24,690 Luke Reid: supporter from day one. He was an early shareholder. He 117 00:07:24,690 --> 00:07:28,110 Luke Reid: today is our deputy chairman and he also chairs our 118 00:07:28,110 --> 00:07:32,520 Luke Reid: medical advisory board. He's been a fantastic mentor to myself 119 00:07:32,790 --> 00:07:36,570 Luke Reid: and other people in the team, and he's been a really 120 00:07:36,750 --> 00:07:41,700 Luke Reid: important pool of experience as we've executed on this global 121 00:07:41,700 --> 00:07:44,130 Luke Reid: opportunity in front of us to create a world where 122 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:48,720 Luke Reid: human health is transformed by microbiome science. 123 00:07:49,260 --> 00:07:53,160 Sean Aylmer: Okay. Now another organization, which is very keen on Microba 124 00:07:53,190 --> 00:07:56,760 Sean Aylmer: is Sonic Healthcare because they took a 20% stake in 125 00:07:56,820 --> 00:08:00,210 Sean Aylmer: the company last year. Once again, I mean, Sonic's one 126 00:08:00,210 --> 00:08:03,810 Sean Aylmer: of the largest diagnostic companies in the world. Presumably that 127 00:08:03,810 --> 00:08:06,330 Sean Aylmer: helps as well. Not just has a shareholder, everyone likes 128 00:08:06,330 --> 00:08:09,960 Sean Aylmer: shareholders, but also access to new markets and also the 129 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:12,780 Sean Aylmer: kind of concept of commercializing what you're doing. 130 00:08:13,380 --> 00:08:17,250 Luke Reid: Absolutely. That partnership with Sonic was really transformational for the 131 00:08:17,250 --> 00:08:22,380 Luke Reid: company. It builds on a bench of medical diagnostic leaders 132 00:08:22,380 --> 00:08:26,400 Luke Reid: that we've been assembling to take our testing technology into 133 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,700 Luke Reid: market globally, into the hands of clinicians and patients to 134 00:08:29,700 --> 00:08:36,690 Luke Reid: support disease management. So Sonic took a strategic shareholding position, 135 00:08:37,020 --> 00:08:41,010 Luke Reid: which was substantial, and that really strategically aligns the interests 136 00:08:41,010 --> 00:08:44,340 Luke Reid: of both companies as we look to drive microbiome testing 137 00:08:44,340 --> 00:08:47,040 Luke Reid: into that future where it is as routine as a 138 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:47,730 Luke Reid: blood test. 139 00:08:49,140 --> 00:08:54,000 Sean Aylmer: I mean that needs commercialization. I mean, to get to that 140 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:58,020 Sean Aylmer: point is often difficult. Is this where the MedTech Accelerator 141 00:08:58,110 --> 00:09:01,470 Sean Aylmer: comes in basically to help speed up that path to commercialization? 142 00:09:02,250 --> 00:09:05,429 Luke Reid: That's exactly what Beta have set up. Through the MedTech 143 00:09:05,460 --> 00:09:11,100 Luke Reid: accelerator, they've put together a program and brought around that 144 00:09:11,100 --> 00:09:17,280 Luke Reid: program expertise, training, access to global networks to be able 145 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:24,090 Luke Reid: to accelerate commercialization of Brisbane MedTech technologies. So it's a really 146 00:09:24,090 --> 00:09:27,990 Luke Reid: fantastic initiative. It's one that we have put strong support 147 00:09:27,990 --> 00:09:33,630 Luke Reid: behind. We've been directly mentoring and working with a range 148 00:09:33,660 --> 00:09:36,990 Luke Reid: of those companies that have gone into the accelerator. And 149 00:09:36,990 --> 00:09:40,349 Luke Reid: for Microba, we actually already work with some of those 150 00:09:40,350 --> 00:09:45,030 Luke Reid: companies. So there's a fantastic ecosystem that's been built here 151 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:49,440 Luke Reid: in Brisbane with support of Beta where we are now 152 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:51,960 Luke Reid: really getting some groundswell to be able to take these 153 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:57,089 Luke Reid: technologies onto the global stage. An example of that is 154 00:09:57,210 --> 00:10:02,790 Luke Reid: our partnership with Midnight Health. They're a fast growth consumer 155 00:10:02,790 --> 00:10:07,349 Luke Reid: health company providing online healthcare solutions to Australians and on 156 00:10:07,350 --> 00:10:11,790 Luke Reid: a strong growth trajectory. They recently received investment from Major 157 00:10:11,970 --> 00:10:16,650 Luke Reid: Health Insurer, NIB, providing them with access to NIB's 1. 158 00:10:16,860 --> 00:10:20,670 Luke Reid: 4 million members. And so the partnership we've brought together 159 00:10:20,910 --> 00:10:23,940 Luke Reid: and Midnight Health are a part of the Beta Accelerator, 160 00:10:24,390 --> 00:10:30,480 Luke Reid: is delivering a world first subscription based service branded as Vidality. 161 00:10:30,630 --> 00:10:34,290 Luke Reid: And what Vidality does is provide a personalized gut health 162 00:10:34,290 --> 00:10:38,940 Luke Reid: supplement based on an individual's gut microbiome test result, powered 163 00:10:38,940 --> 00:10:43,469 Luke Reid: by Microba's testing technology. So for me, that shows how this 164 00:10:43,470 --> 00:10:48,900 Luke Reid: collaborative environment has evolved within the Brisbane MedTech community and how 165 00:10:49,110 --> 00:10:52,320 Luke Reid: we start to create synergies that can create new opportunities 166 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:53,429 Luke Reid: to take to market. 167 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:55,920 Sean Aylmer: What is it about Brizzy? Why suddenly it... I mean, 168 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:58,199 Sean Aylmer: it's sort of becoming a hub for medical technology. 169 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:03,630 Luke Reid: Brisbane is really unique, Sean. We've got access to major 170 00:11:03,630 --> 00:11:09,780 Luke Reid: hospital networks, world- class research facilities, advanced manufacturing capabilities now 171 00:11:10,260 --> 00:11:14,730 Luke Reid: and importantly top tier university talent. And I think it's 172 00:11:14,730 --> 00:11:21,360 Luke Reid: nice that the outstanding affordability and lifestyle that Brisbane affords 173 00:11:21,690 --> 00:11:25,350 Luke Reid: continues to draw in that talent to Brisbane, both nationally 174 00:11:25,530 --> 00:11:29,490 Luke Reid: and internationally. And as a result, it's not a surprise 175 00:11:29,490 --> 00:11:33,390 Luke Reid: to me that Brisbane is now Australia's fastest growing capital 176 00:11:33,390 --> 00:11:36,600 Luke Reid: city and Australia's fastest growing population. 177 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:39,000 Sean Aylmer: And it's got some pretty good universities as well. 178 00:11:39,450 --> 00:11:43,740 Luke Reid: It does, and it has at the tailwinds of the 179 00:11:43,740 --> 00:11:46,080 Luke Reid: Olympics coming up as well, which is leading to new 180 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:49,350 Luke Reid: infrastructure and a whole range of investments being made. So 181 00:11:50,220 --> 00:11:52,800 Luke Reid: there's a lot happening and a lot going for Brisbane. 182 00:11:53,190 --> 00:11:56,189 Sean Aylmer: Okay. So what next for Microba? Obviously these phase one 183 00:11:56,190 --> 00:11:57,270 Sean Aylmer: trials are very exciting. 184 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:02,280 Luke Reid: Absolutely. We are continuing to execute on the growth of our 185 00:12:02,490 --> 00:12:06,690 Luke Reid: testing services. So we'll start there by saying through our 186 00:12:06,750 --> 00:12:11,370 Luke Reid: leading bench of healthcare partners now adding in Sonic, but 187 00:12:11,370 --> 00:12:15,059 Luke Reid: we also have Synlab, which is Europe's largest pathology company 188 00:12:15,390 --> 00:12:18,809 Luke Reid: as a partner. We have the leading gastrointestinal pathology company 189 00:12:19,110 --> 00:12:23,010 Luke Reid: in North America called Genova Diagnostics. And we have a 190 00:12:23,010 --> 00:12:27,300 Luke Reid: really aggressive healthcare leader in the Middle East called G42 191 00:12:27,300 --> 00:12:30,809 Luke Reid: Healthcare. And through that leading venture partners, we now have 192 00:12:30,809 --> 00:12:34,950 Luke Reid: access into 35 countries and we've operationalized seven of those 193 00:12:34,950 --> 00:12:39,540 Luke Reid: today. So we've got significant growth ahead as we continue 194 00:12:39,870 --> 00:12:44,040 Luke Reid: to operationalize those partners to get Microba's testing technology into 195 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:47,070 Luke Reid: the hands of clinicians and patients across the globe. And 196 00:12:47,070 --> 00:12:49,380 Luke Reid: then on the other side, as you mentioned, we're going 197 00:12:49,380 --> 00:12:54,059 Luke Reid: to rapidly progress our novel therapeutics into clinical development and 198 00:12:54,059 --> 00:12:58,380 Luke Reid: through to key value inflection points. And ultimately we plan 199 00:12:58,380 --> 00:13:01,740 Luke Reid: to partner with Big Pharma at the right time to 200 00:13:01,740 --> 00:13:05,580 Luke Reid: take those assets through late stage development and onto market. 201 00:13:06,300 --> 00:13:09,090 Sean Aylmer: Luke, good luck and thank you for talking to Fear & Greed. 202 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:10,469 Luke Reid: Thank you so much, Sean. 203 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:14,550 Sean Aylmer: Now was Dr. Luke Reid, CEO of Microba, which is 204 00:13:14,550 --> 00:13:17,610 Sean Aylmer: based in Brisbane. The Brisbane Economic Development Agency is a 205 00:13:17,610 --> 00:13:20,490 Sean Aylmer: supporter of this podcast. This is the Fear & Greed daily 206 00:13:20,490 --> 00:13:22,920 Sean Aylmer: interview. Join us every morning for the full episode of 207 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:26,850 Sean Aylmer: Fear & Greed, Australia's most popular business podcast. I'm Sean Aylmer. 208 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:27,599 Sean Aylmer: Enjoy your day.