Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Biobusiness Briefs
  • Published:

Patent watch

Modulating the human microbiome with live biotherapeutic products: intellectual property landscape

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery volume 15, pages 224–225 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Since the launch of the Human Microbiome Project in 2008, an explosion of research has advanced our understanding of the microbiome's role in various biological processes, such as digestion, the immune response and metabolism (Nat. Rev. Genet. 13, 260–270; 2012). The human microbiome has therefore emerged as a new target and treatment modality for a wide range of diseases.

The main strategies to modulate the microbiome include fecal transplantation, small molecules, prebiotics and live microorganisms. In 2012, the FDA published guidance on developing live biotherapeutic products (LBPs), which paved the road for microbiome-based therapies.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Intellectual property filing activity for live biotherapeutic products by indication focus.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Global Prior Art, 21 Milk Street, Boston, 02109, Massachusetts, USA

    Xiaowei Sun, Jeannette L. A. Fiala & Drew Lowery

Authors
  1. Xiaowei Sun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jeannette L. A. Fiala
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Drew Lowery
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Drew Lowery.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sun, X., Fiala, J. & Lowery, D. Modulating the human microbiome with live biotherapeutic products: intellectual property landscape. Nat Rev Drug Discov 15, 224–225 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd.2016.48

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd.2016.48

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Translational Research

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Translational Research newsletter — top stories in biotechnology, drug discovery and pharma.

Get what matters in translational research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Translational Research