Intrinsic Medicine, a Seattle-based biotech, is developing human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) drugs to treat a range of gut immune microbiota brain axis disorders, with its programs for Parkinson’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) entering phase 2 trials.
With a personal connection to these conditions through his experience with IBS, CEO Alex Martinez brings a unique perspective, stating, “I’m evaluating our drugs in the context of the human, subjective experience because I’m living it.” Intrinsic’s approach leverages the low toxicity and inexpensive compounds of synthetic HMOs to develop a potential breakthrough class of drugs.
Intrinsic Medicine’s development of HMO-based therapeutics to target complex diseases, such as Parkinson’s, adds to Seattle’s reputation for groundbreaking drug development.