The Story of OpenBiome
The human gut is teeming with trillions of bacteria and other microbes. Understanding this mysterious part of our body is key to unlocking the future of medicine.
At OpenBiome, we’ve seen the life-saving power of bacteria firsthand. Here’s a look at our journey so far to advance microbiome science.
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A Life-Changing Investigational Fecal Transplant
January 1, 2011
A close friend of ours contracts a life-threatening C. difficile infection after a routine surgery. We watch him struggle through several rounds of failed antibiotic treatment for 18 months. After receiving an investigational fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), his health rebounds within a few days.
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OpenBiome is Founded
January 15, 2013
OpenBiome started as an initiative run out of an MIT-based laboratory. In 2013, we were officially founded as an independent nonprofit devoted to expanding access to investigational FMT and catalyzing microbiome research.
Meet Our Team -
The First OpenBiome Treatment
November 14, 2013
OpenBiome ships its first investigational FMT preparation to a hospital in Oakland, California. The patient—a 91-year-old woman who has experienced three recurrences of C. difficile—recovers from the infection.
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Reaching New Milestones
February 1, 2016
OpenBiome manufactures and ships its 10,000th investigational FMT preparation.
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Expanding Our Mission Globally
March 1, 2017
OpenBiome launches the Global Health Microbiome Initiative. Our first study explores whether investigational FMT can help treat severe acute malnutrition in children. It's the first investigational FMT clinical trial on the African continent.
How We Work With Researchers -
Another Milestone Met
September 1, 2021
OpenBiome manufactures and ships its 60,000th investigational FMT preparation.
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Welcoming the Global Microbiome Conservancy to OpenBiome
September 1, 2022
OpenBiome assumes leadership of the Global Microbiome Conservancy (GMbC), a nonprofit initiative founded at MIT, and welcomes it as a flagship program. As part of OpenBiome, the GMbC will scale up its mission of collaborating with a diverse network of scientists to build a globally representative microbiome library.
Learn About The GMbC -
Working with the University of Minnesota to Treat Patients with Recurrent C. difficile Infections
January 20, 2022
OpenBiome enters a collaboration with the University of Minnesota’s Microbiota Therapeutics Program to ensure that patients with recurrent C. difficile infections have access to investigational fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). Through this collaboration, OpenBiome will distribute preparations of intestinal microbiota manufactured under Good Manufacturing Practice by the University of Minnesota under the guidance of gastroenterologist Alexander Khoruts, MD and microbiologist Michael Sadowsky, PhD.
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