Bacteria

Microbiome testing firms proliferate along with questions about their claims

The growth of the microbiome market has seen it's increase in recent years, but so has the skepticism about some of their health claims. Companies are even claiming the ability to provide personalized health advice with just a swab.

University of California, Davis, microbiologist Jonathan Eisen has been outspoken in his disdain for the burgeoning biome market, calling out one of the companies on Twitter as the “Theranos of microbiome companies” a reference to the infamous blood-testing firm whose founder was indicted on fraud charges in June. 

“I just think that it’s early to be saying that we can make recommendations about what people should do based upon one of these microbiome diagnostics,” said Eisen.

Leah Shaffer's full STAT article can be found here.

Primary Category