• GoodGut, dedicated to early diagnoses to improve digestive health, will now also form part of HIPRA’s strategy to continue delivering innovative solutions to patients.
• One of the most innovative products in its portfolio is the RAID-CRC test, which enables the quick, early and precise detection of1 colorectal cancer; the third-most prevalent and deadly type of cancer worldwide2 .
HIPRA pharmaceuticals has completed its acquisition of the biotech company GoodGut, which is dedicated to the research and development of diagnostic tests for digestive diseases. With this operation, HIPRA is strengthening its Human Health division while continuing its commitment to prevention and to offering innovative products to the population.
The GoodGut company, located in the Science and Technological Park of the University of Girona, was founded by Mariona Serra Pagès, Xavier Aldeguer, Jesús Garcia-Gil and Jaume Amat in 2014 as a spin-off of the University of Girona and the Dr. Josep Trueta Biomedical Research Institute of Girona (IDIBGI). Its focus is on developing technological solutions based on gut microbiota to enable healthcare systems to achieve precise, reliable and economical diagnoses and to improve the quality of life for patients with compromised digestive health. After seven years, the biotech company has been able to launch three diagnostic products onto the market, with a presence in more than 79 healthcare sites in Spain, as well as three more products in the works. GoodGut believes that “this operation is a culmination of our project’s success, enabling the global expansion of our products from the ideal partner: one that’s both powerful and local”. They also highlight that “this acquisition represents a success for the biotech industry where few start-ups are able to expand and consolidate their projects through mergers or acquisitions. It is an indicator that our entrepreneurial ecosystem is maturing”.
GoodGut’s talent and know-how, along with HIPRA’s experience and capabilities, will enable the development, production and commercialisation of innovative diagnostic tests to detect diseases of the digestive system such as colorectal cancer, the most common and deadly cancer in Spain and the third-most common and deadly worldwide2 . It will also allow detection of other inflammatory intestinal diseases like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis or irritable bowel syndrome, a condition that takes between one and five years to detect.
About the current products
RAID-CRC is a fast, easy-to-use and non-invasive test for the early detection of colorectal cancer using specific bacterial markers in stool samples.
This system, which complements the faecal occult blood test, detects colorectal cancer without discomfort for patients. This tool, based on research identifying gut microbiota as one of the agents causing colon cancer, significantly reduces the number of unnecessary colonoscopies.
RAID-DX is the first non-invasive diagnostic test for irritable bowel syndrome and is able to determine, through stool samples, this disease’s specific bacterial signature.
Irritable bowel syndrome affects 11%3,4 of the population and ranks within the top 10 diseases that are most difficult to detect, since its diagnosis can take between one and five years.
TestUrGut is a non-invasive test enables each patient to find out about their gut microbiota and receive specialist advice on how to improve digestive health.
GoodGut is expected to keep its same structure after joining HIPRA. The agreement will enable us to continue investigating in biomedical research in order to improve the quality of life for patients suffering from digestive diseases.
1. Malagón et al 2018, 2020.
2. Seom.org. (2017). Las Cifras del Cáncer en España 2021 [Cancer Figures in Spain 2021] [online] Available at: https://seom.org/images/Cifras_del_cancer_en_Espnaha_2021.pdf
3. Canavan C, West J, Card T. The epidemiology of irritable bowel syndrome. Clin Epidemiol. 2014b;6:71-80.
4. Lovell RM, Ford AC. Global prevalence of and risk factors for irritable bowel syndrome: a meta-analysis. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2012a;10(7):712-21.