MRM Health NV

MRM Health NV is a Belgian clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing microbiome-based live biotherapeutic products. The company was established in 2019 as a translational spin-off from the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology and Ghent University, building on microbiome research and technology developed in the Ghent scientific and biotechnology ecosystem. Its work is directed primarily at chronic inflammatory diseases, especially disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, while also extending to metabolic disease and the use of microbiome interventions to augment immune-oncology treatments. MRM Health’s approach is based on defined microbial consortia rather than broadly sourced fecal material or an unspecified collection of microorganisms. These consortia combine selected bacterial strains intended to perform complementary biological functions. The company’s stated objectives include helping restore intestinal microbial balance, strengthening the gut barrier and modulating immune activity. This approach is designed to address disease-associated microbiome disruption while avoiding the broad immunosuppression associated with some conventional treatments for inflammatory disease. The scientific and technological background of the company is linked to ProDigest, a Ghent-based microbiome technology business founded in 2008 by Sam Possemiers. ProDigest developed in-vitro gastrointestinal models and strain-selection methods that helped support the rational design of microbial consortia. MRM Health was subsequently formed to translate related discoveries and platform capabilities into clinical-stage therapeutic programs. The company’s principal disclosed development program is MH002, a defined six-strain microbial consortium being developed for ulcerative colitis. MH002 is intended to act on several aspects of disease biology, including microbial imbalance, intestinal-barrier function and dysregulated immune responses. Early clinical work, including Phase 2a studies in ulcerative colitis and pouchitis, has been described as showing a favorable safety profile and preliminary indications of therapeutic activity. These findings remain part of a clinical-development process and do not establish regulatory approval or demonstrated efficacy for routine patient use. MRM Health also operates CORAL, a proprietary co-fermentation platform. CORAL is designed to manufacture multiple bacterial strains together in a controlled process, with the goal of producing a homogeneous drug substance that can be scaled and manufactured according to pharmaceutical quality requirements. The platform is intended to address a central challenge in live biotherapeutic development: producing complex microbial products consistently and at a scale suitable for clinical and potentially commercial supply. In addition to MH002, MRM Health has reported work on microbial consortia for Crohn’s disease and metabolic disorders, as well as programs intended to support cancer immunotherapies. The company has also maintained research activity in animal health through collaborations. Its business model combines internal therapeutic development with strategic and technology collaborations. In 2020 it entered a microbiome collaboration with DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences, whose relevant business later became part of IFF, to explore applications in metabolic disease. MRM Health raised approximately €14 million in a 2019 Series A financing round involving Ackermans & van Haaren, DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences, OMX Europe Venture Fund and management. In 2025, it announced a €55 million Series B financing led by Biocodex, with participation from Athos and BNP Paribas Private Fortis Equity. The 2025 financing was paired with a strategic development and manufacturing agreement with Biocodex intended to support clinical development and scale-up of the CORAL platform. MRM Health remains an active private biotechnology company whose value proposition centers on rationally designed microbial medicines and their pharmaceutical manufacture.

MRM Health emerged from microbiome research conducted in Ghent by academic and biotechnology institutions. A significant part of the underlying technology was associated with ProDigest, a company founded in 2008 by Sam Possemiers. ProDigest developed in-vitro models of the gastrointestinal tract and methods for selecting and evaluating bacterial strains. These capabilities contributed to the rational design of defined microbial combinations intended to reproduce useful functions of a healthy microbiome in a controlled therapeutic format. In 2019, MRM Health was created as a spin-off from the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology and Ghent University. Its purpose was to move discoveries from the research environment toward drug development. Rather than relying on an undefined microbial community, the company pursued live biotherapeutic products made from specified bacterial strains. The intended biological effects included restoring microbial balance, supporting intestinal-barrier integrity and influencing immune responses involved in chronic inflammatory disease. The company secured approximately €14 million in Series A financing during its founding year. The round included Ackermans & van Haaren, DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences, OMX Europe Venture Fund, which comprised Korys and Mérieux Equity Partners, and members of management. The financing provided a corporate and venture-capital base for advancing the company’s microbial-consortium programs. In 2020, MRM Health entered a collaboration with DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences to explore microbiome applications in metabolic disease. DuPont’s nutrition activities subsequently became part of IFF, linking the program to a larger international ingredients and biosciences group. MRM Health’s research scope also expanded beyond inflammatory bowel disease to include Crohn’s disease, metabolic disorders, immune-oncology support and selected animal-health applications. The company’s lead clinical program is MH002, a six-strain consortium developed for ulcerative colitis. The program has also been studied in pouchitis, an inflammatory condition that can occur after restorative surgery for ulcerative colitis. Early Phase 2a clinical studies have been reported as indicating favorable safety and preliminary signs of efficacy. These studies formed part of ongoing clinical development rather than constituting regulatory approval. A central technological development is CORAL, MRM Health’s proprietary co-fermentation platform. Conventional production of multi-strain microbial medicines can require separate cultivation and later blending, creating challenges related to consistency and process complexity. CORAL is designed to co-ferment multiple strains in one controlled process, with the objective of creating a more homogeneous drug substance and supporting eventual good-manufacturing-practice production at larger scale. In 2025, MRM Health raised €55 million in a Series B financing led by Biocodex. Athos and BNP Paribas Private Fortis Equity were identified among the new investors. The company also announced a strategic development and manufacturing agreement with Biocodex. The arrangement was intended to support clinical development and the industrial scale-up of CORAL, strengthening the company’s ability to progress from clinical research toward more advanced development and manufacturing. MRM Health is therefore best understood as an active private biotechnology company at the intersection of microbiome science, live biotherapeutics and pharmaceutical manufacturing technology. Its principal strategic challenge is to demonstrate reproducible clinical benefit while manufacturing complex microbial products to the quality, consistency and scalability expected of modern medicines.

• 2025

  Series B and Biocodex strategic agreement

  [1]MRM Health NVen.wikipedia.org

  MRM Health closes a €55 million Series B led by Biocodex and announces a development and manufacturing agreement to advance clinical programs and scale CORAL.

• 2020

  Metabolic-disease collaboration with DuPont

  [1]MRM Health NVen.wikipedia.org

  MRM Health and DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences begin exploring microbiome solutions for metabolic disease programs.

• 2019

  MRM Health is established as a Ghent research spin-off

  [1]MRM Health NVen.wikipedia.org

  MRM Health is founded as a spin-off from the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology and Ghent University to translate microbiome research into therapeutic development.

• 2019

  Series A financing

  [1]MRM Health NVen.wikipedia.org

  The company raises approximately €14 million from a group including Ackermans & van Haaren, DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences, OMX Europe Venture Fund and management.

• 2008

  ProDigest is founded

  [1]MRM Health NVen.wikipedia.org

  ProDigest is established by Sam Possemiers and develops gastrointestinal models and microbiome strain-selection capabilities that later inform MRM Health’s technology base.

MRM Health positions itself as a clinical-stage developer of rationally designed, defined microbial medicines. Its differentiation rests on combining microbiome biology, selected bacterial consortia and a proprietary co-fermentation process intended to improve consistency, scalability and pharmaceutical manufacturability.

• Live biotherapeutic product

  MH002

  MH002 is MRM Health’s lead defined microbial consortium program. It consists of six rationally selected bacterial strains and is being developed primarily for ulcerative colitis, with research also reported in pouchitis. The program is intended to address several disease mechanisms at once: disruption of the gut microbiome, impaired intestinal-barrier function and abnormal immune activity. Early Phase 2a studies have been described as showing a favorable safety profile and preliminary efficacy signals. MH002 remains a clinical-development candidate and is not described here as an approved medicine.

• Microbial manufacturing platform

  CORAL

  CORAL is MRM Health’s proprietary co-fermentation platform for producing defined multi-strain microbial drug substances. It is designed to cultivate several bacterial strains together in a controlled process, potentially improving homogeneity and simplifying manufacture compared with separately produced strains that are blended later. The platform is intended to support scalable production and eventual pharmaceutical manufacturing under appropriate quality standards.

• Live biotherapeutic research program

  Crohn’s disease microbial consortia

  MRM Health has reported additional microbial-consortia research directed at Crohn’s disease. These programs apply the company’s broader strategy of using defined bacterial combinations to influence intestinal ecology, barrier function and immune signaling. Publicly available reference material does not provide sufficient detail to identify a specific clinical candidate or development stage.

• Microbiome therapeutic research

  Metabolic-disease microbiome programs

  The company has explored microbiome-based interventions for metabolic disorders, including through its collaboration with DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences. These programs seek to translate microbial biology into therapeutic approaches outside inflammatory bowel disease. Specific product names, indications and clinical stages have not been established in the supplied reference material.

• Microbiome therapeutic research

  Immune-oncology microbiome programs

  MRM Health is investigating whether defined microbial consortia can augment cancer immunotherapies. The concept is to use microbiome modulation to influence immune responsiveness alongside oncology treatment. The supplied sources do not identify a named candidate, clinical indication or confirmed development stage for these programs.

• 2025

  Partner with Biocodex for development and manufacturingStrategy

  Background

  MRM Health required additional capital and industrial support to progress its clinical pipeline and scale production using the CORAL platform.

  Action taken

  The company announced a strategic development and manufacturing agreement with Biocodex alongside a €55 million Series B financing.

  Aftermath

  The agreement was intended to support clinical development and the scale-up of CORAL and MRM Health’s microbial drug-substance manufacturing capabilities.

  Series B financing. €55 million (2025)

  Source

• 2020

  Collaborate with DuPont on metabolic diseaseStrategy

  Background

  MRM Health sought to extend microbiome technology beyond inflammatory bowel disease into metabolic disorders.

  Action taken

  The company entered a collaboration with DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences to explore microbiome solutions for metabolic disease programs.

  Aftermath

  The collaboration connected MRM Health’s therapeutic research with DuPont’s nutrition and biosciences activities, which later became associated with IFF.

  Source

• 2019

  Launch as a translational microbiome spin-offStrategy

  Background

  Research from the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Ghent University and the surrounding Ghent biotechnology ecosystem had produced microbiome models and strain-selection methods with potential therapeutic applications.

  Action taken

  MRM Health was established to develop defined microbial consortia and related technologies as clinical-stage medicines rather than leaving the work solely in an academic research setting.

  Aftermath

  The company advanced MH002 and built a broader pipeline covering inflammatory, metabolic and immune-oncology applications.

  Source

1. 1MRM Health NVen.wikipedia.org