Persephone Biosciences

Persephone Biosciences is a San Diego-based synthetic biology company that develops microbiome-based medicines and consumer health products. Its stated mission is to establish a standard of care for the human gut microbiome through research, clinically tested products, and a platform technology for engineering microbial cells. The company describes itself as building an end-to-end platform to industrialize the development of engineered cells intended to restore damaged human microbial ecosystems, with applications spanning infant health and oncology.

Its commercial products are synbiotics for infants and toddlers that combine four keystone probiotic strains, including Bifidobacterium, with a human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) prebiotic blend and vitamin D at 100% of the daily recommended value for infants. The company positions the formulation as derived from strains identified and isolated in its own My Baby Biome study, which it describes as the largest U.S. study mapping the infant gut microbiome and which reported that nine out of ten U.S. babies lack essential levels of critical gut bacteria. Products are marketed as third-party tested, screened for heavy metals and major allergens, Clean Label Project certified, DNA-sequenced by batch, and manufactured in the USA.

Alongside consumer products, Persephone runs a research program that includes the ARTEMIS synbiotic clinical trial, the ARGONAUT study (NCT04638751) mapping the gut and immune health of cancer patients, and the AMBROSIA food-as-medicine study conducted with Kroger Health.

Founding story

Co-founder and CEO Stephanie Culler, a microbiome scientist, describes having studied the microbiome for over a decade and identifying a gap in infant gut health after becoming a mother; conversations with pediatric experts and results from the company's My Baby Biome study indicated that most babies lack key gut microbes, prompting the product effort. The company was founded in the summer of 2017 by Culler and Steve Van Dien, described as synthetic and metabolic engineering specialists. The name references the Greek goddess Persephone, associated with growth and with the pomegranate, a fruit with prebiotic effects.

Business model

The company sells synbiotic supplements for infants and toddlers directly to consumers through an online storefront on its own website, while also developing microbiome-based therapeutic programs and a platform technology described as being advanced with industry partners.

Revenue is generated from sales of infant and toddler synbiotic supplement products purchased through the company's online store; third-party profiles also describe partnership- and services-oriented activity alongside the direct-to-consumer line.

Traction

The company reports completion and publication of the ARTEMIS randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in Pediatric Research, finding its strains were safe, well tolerated, colonized, and persisted. It has also completed the My Baby Biome study and operates the ARGONAUT and AMBROSIA studies. Team size was listed at 6 in a Y Combinator profile and at 18 in a later third-party firmographic listing.