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Microba, Macrogen Form Microbiome Services Alliance

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) — Australian biotech firm Microba said today that it has partnered with Macrogen to develop microbiome research services for international markets.

Under the terms of the deal, Microba and Seoul-based Macrogen will initially work together on a shotgun metagenomic sequencing-based service that will be offered in South Korea and other nations outside of Australia. The companies also aim to build a library of high-resolution gut microbiome data that they will use to develop microbiome-based diagnostics and therapeutics.

Additional terms were not disclosed.

"Microba is very pleased to work together with Macrogen, which is well known for its world-class genetics analysis capacity and its vast experience in data analysis," Microba CEO Blake Wills said in a statement. "The two companies will work closely to advance microbiome analysis technology, as well as [launch] various services in the direct-to-consumer, research, and clinical markets."

Last month, Microba announced that it had selected Google Cloud to handle its data and computing needs.

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