Brisbane-based world leaders in metagenomic testing, Microba, are among 56 finalists competing for a Lord Mayor’s Award in October this year, as a finalist in the product innovation category.
Microba are one of five finalists for the 2019 Queensland Urban Utilities Award for Product Innovation for their Metagenomic Analysis Platform (MAP™) which provides quality, high-resolution analysis of the human gut microbiome.
MAP™ is the company’s own proprietary sample processing and bioinformatic analysis pipeline which uses the gold standard in gut microbiome processing – metagenomic DNA sequencing – to provide a significant innovation to industry.
Launched in 2018, Microba has grown rapidly in the last 14 months, with over 7,000 Australians exploring their gut bacteria, several key research projects underway with respected partners and well-known investors such as Korea’s Macrogen.
CEO Blake Wills said that the company was pleased to be a finalist in the Lord Mayor’s Awards and looked forward to attending the Awards dinner to see who took out the awards for each category.
“Microba is a home-grown innovative start up in Brisbane, and it’s great to see our contribution to industry and the local business community being recognised by our Lord Mayor,” he said.
“MAP™ provides customers with affordable access to deep information about the gut microbiome that was previously not readily accessible.
“The information we are accessing through MAP™ is advancing our understanding of how the gut microbiome influences health and will accelerate the discovery of new diagnostics and therapeutics.”
Brisbane’s Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said in his official press release that there was an incredibly strong group of finalists this year.
“These businesses and individuals make a positive impact on our local economy and community, but also internationally with ground-breaking research, products and services,” he said.
The Lord Mayor’s Awards will be announced on 18 October at a Gala Dinner held in Brisbane.
