As part of its expansion plan, India’s pioneering microbiome company Leucine Rich Bio Pvt Ltd. has now entered the Philippines market with its one-of-a-kind microbiome testing kit called the BugSpeaks. This strategic move comes in partnership with Cognoa International Inc., a premier Philippines company specializing in probiotics and gut health since 2014. The recipient of the National Startup Award 2021 (constituted by the government of India), in the Health and Wellness category, Leucine Rich Bio is known for its innovative products that enhance gut health.
Doctors, especially functional medicine doctors, are very excited to find gut microbiome tests like BugSpeaks being made available in the Philippines. There are already many instances of the test results helping patients in coming to the root cause of their health conditions. One such case study is that of Angela Soberano (Name Changed), a 37-year-old woman from the Philippines with a history of psoriasis and lung infection, was strongly recommended to undergo the BugSpeaks test. The test analysis suggested an overgrowth of a fungus called Aspergillus niger which was also confirmed by urine metabolite analysis. The results from the BugSpeaks test helped the patient receive the right treatment and thus helped improve the quality of her life.
Dr. Debojyoti Dhar, Co-Founder and Director (Business Development and Innovation), Leucine Rich Bio Pvt Ltd., said, “We are glad that BugSpeaks is now catering to our esteemed clients in the Philippines. In fact, BugSpeaks has been doing well in Thailand as well. We and our partners in both these countries are trying to democratize microbiome tests as much as possible. We are also looking to expand to other Asian countries soon. BugSpeaks is available in other countries and Leucine Rich Bio is actively seeking partnerships.
Regarding the partnership, Ms. Katrina Go, COO, Cognoa International Inc., said, “Working with Leucine Rich Bio has been great. We are proud to distribute BugSpeaks in the Philippines. This unique test has given us good results and the doctors and clinics in the Philippines are excited to adopt this test.”
Recently, Leucine Rich Bio established a one-of-its-kind gut clinic in Bengaluru with an in-house laboratory where tests employing advanced technology such as next-generation sequencing are routinely done.