Macrogen, a company specializing in genome analysis, said on Monday it acquired a domestic patent for a health information analysis device using microbiomes.

This patent is for a device that can diagnose a specific disease or predict risk or prognosis using microbiomes in the body and its genome.

The Macrogen research team tried to predict complex traits such as specific diseases based on the characteristics of microbial groups that reflect the intestinal ecosystem. Intestinal microorganisms are associated with metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, infectious diseases, and autoimmune diseases.

The device first obtains the genetic data of the microbial herd by metagenome analysis for biodiversity confirmation from microbial herd samples collected from the user's intestines, mouth, and skin. The composition of each microorganism that constitutes an ecosystem in the microorganism group sample is checked.

Subsequently, entering the user's age, gender, and microbial composition into the pre-learned machine learning model through the database enables accurate diagnosis and prediction of specific diseases, and provides information for user healthcare.

"This patented technology can recognize microbial health information quickly," Dr. Kim In-seon of Macrogen's research team said. "Users can intuitively learn about their microbial environment, which will help them better understand their current health status and manage their health."

Based on its expertise in microbiome analysis, Macrogen plans to materialize its portfolio of microbiome businesses by developing new products through collaboration with leading domestic medical institutions, said a company official.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the global microbiome market is expected to grow to about $110 billion in 2024 and is emerging as a future growth tool for the pharmaceutical bioindustry in Korea.

"Microbiome, which can be collected relatively easily from human intestines, skin, oral cavity, and vagina, contains many health-related indicators," said Macrogen CEO Kim Chang-hoon. "Consequently, we will start expanding our customized solution business by utilizing microbiomes this year."