Roquette & PharmaBiome to Create “Cutting-Edge” Prebiotics With Predictive Microbiome Technology

PharmaBiome and Roquette have announced an agreement to design brand-new nutrition and health ingredients known as microbiome-targeted fibers.

The partnership involves utilizing PharmaBiome’s proprietary NicheMap technology to screen and formulate “cutting-edge” prebiotics using novel soluble fibers developed by Roquette. Knowing the structural characteristics of a prebiotic made from fibers is vital in producing new ingredients with specific health properties, PharmaBiome explains.

Supplementing diets with fiber

“This project with PharmaBiome will allow Roquette to offer new microbiome-targeted fibers with scientifically proven health benefits. We are very pleased by the results of this continued collaboration which reinforces our commitment to delivering plant-based innovative ingredients to the food, nutrition, and health sectors,” said Dr. Laetitia Guérin-Deremaux, head of nutrition and health R&D at Roquette.

Roquette, a leading global starch and nutrition company, has already developed NUTRIOSE, a soluble fiber range with scientifically proven health benefits, to help consumers upgrade their fiber intake. The ingredients company has been working with PharmaBiome since 2017 and has previously used and approved its NicheMap on existing and prototyped fibers. The press release said this partnership would be crucial to extending Roquette’s current NUTRIOSE fiber range.

PharmaBiome is a biotech company specializing in predicting the prebiotic effect of fiber on microbial composition and activity in the human gut. Their predictive microbiome technology (NicheMap)enables them to bridge the gap between microbiome composition and function.

30 grams of fiber daily

According to the companies, 30 grams of fiber daily is essential to nourish the intestinal microbiota and improve well-being. But people eat less than the recommended daily amount of fiber, leading to a rise in health problems such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and gastrointestinal issues in the future. 

Dr. Tomas de Wouters, CEO of PharmaBiome, commented: “This project is an important milestone in our long-term collaboration with Roquette taking the leap from understanding the effect of fibers to using our insights to develop and optimize fiber products. Our long-standing collaboration with Roquette is a great validation of the biological relevance of our NicheMap technology, expanding our understanding of the microbiome and its use in the field of prebiotics.”

microbiome
biotech