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DETERMINATION OF STRATEGIC PRIORITIES FOR A MICROBIOME COMPANY THROUGH ANALYSIS OF TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES AND CURRENT MARKET LANDSCAPES

Andrew, Brandon E
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4694-5969
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1586527376213742

Abstract Details

2020, Master of Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Biology.
The “mycobiome" refers to the composition of both bacterial and fungal communities in the human gut microbiome and has been the focus of disease-state correlations investigated by researchers and pursued with commercial interests by biotech startups. A microbiome startup currently sells direct-to-consumer at-home microbiome sequencing kits and probiotics that aim to balance the gut biofilm that contributes to the dysbiosis-associated conditions. This company has expressed an interest in developing new business strategies to leverage their intellectual and technical strengths. This thesis is composed of two parts: The first section is a scientific and technical investigation of the micro- and myco-biome, sequencing techniques and strategies (16S, ITS, WGS, and Shotgun Metagenomic Sequencing) that play a role in the characterization and identification of fungal and bacterial colonies in the gut. These strategies aim to overcome challenges in characterizing and quantifying microbiota composition. Next, this sequencing data can form a robust database of patient data that plays a role in disease identification, and this thesis identifies some of the bioinformatic analyses to achieve this goal. The section concludes with how insights derived from patient data can be used in the optimization of cohort design in clinical trials for various diseases. The second section investigates three different business models that a microbiome startup has expressed interest in exploring for future development: (1) medical foods; (2) a therapeutic pipeline; and (3) a data-licensing and discovery platform for drug development. A detailed analysis of the market dynamics, competitive landscape, regulatory issues, and other nascent concerns was performed for each potential vertical as a foundation to develop future business strategy of a microbiome-related startup. The thesis is concluded on a holistic analysis of the scientific and technical assets and business opportunities and strategies necessary for microbiome startups to successfully implement new business development. The final section serves as a final assessment of the holistic analysis and provides considerations regarding sustainable business growth for a microbiome-based biotech startup.
Christopher Cullis (Committee Member)
Emmitt Jolly (Committee Member)
Neema Mayhugh (Committee Member)
55 p.
Biology; Entrepreneurship
microbiome; metagenomics; commercial strategy; human gut pathogens; therapeutics development; platform-based discovery optimization; medical foods; probiotics; biotech startup business strategy; human gut microbiome

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Citations

  • Andrew, B. E. (2020). DETERMINATION OF STRATEGIC PRIORITIES FOR A MICROBIOME COMPANY THROUGH ANALYSIS OF TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES AND CURRENT MARKET LANDSCAPES [Master's thesis, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1586527376213742

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Andrew, Brandon. DETERMINATION OF STRATEGIC PRIORITIES FOR A MICROBIOME COMPANY THROUGH ANALYSIS OF TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES AND CURRENT MARKET LANDSCAPES. 2020. Case Western Reserve University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1586527376213742.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Andrew, Brandon. "DETERMINATION OF STRATEGIC PRIORITIES FOR A MICROBIOME COMPANY THROUGH ANALYSIS OF TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES AND CURRENT MARKET LANDSCAPES." Master's thesis, Case Western Reserve University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1586527376213742

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1586527376213742
164
© 2020, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License DETERMINATION OF STRATEGIC PRIORITIES FOR A MICROBIOME COMPANY THROUGH ANALYSIS OF TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES AND CURRENT MARKET LANDSCAPES by Brandon E Andrew is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.