ZBiotics positions itself as the world’s first maker of genetically engineered probiotics, building consumer-facing products that add new functionality to the human body. Its flagship Pre-Alcohol Probiotic Drink mimics the liver by breaking down acetaldehyde, the toxic byproduct of alcohol. The company is led by a team of Ph.D. scientists and emphasizes transparent, responsible genetic engineering for consumer use. ZBiotics has more than doubled sales each year, sold over 5 million units cumulatively, and reached company-wide profitability in 2023. It plans to expand into physical retail and use R&D to bring additional use-case probiotics to market. In the near term it will launch a second product focused on microbial diversity in the gut and is exploring products targeting sleep, vaginal health, and athletic performance. ZBiotics develops genetically engineered probiotics designed to deliver new biological functions in the gut. Its first product is a probiotic that mimics liver function in the gut to neutralize toxic alcohol byproducts. The company is pursuing additional engineered strains aimed at helping the body resist environmental toxins and infections (for example, lead-contaminated water and radiation) and at producing useful nutrients such as fiber and high-quality protein. ZBiotics is led by CEO Zack Abbott, PhD. The company said it will use the new funding to accelerate product development, hire new executives and drive sales growth. ZBiotics is based in San Francisco and has raised a total of $5.7M to date. Zbiotics has developed a genetically engineered probiotic that expresses an enzyme to break down acetaldehyde, the toxic byproduct of alcohol believed to cause hangover symptoms. The product is intended to be taken before or during drinking rather than after. To date the team has demonstrated function in vitro and through limited self-testing, but has not completed placebo-controlled, peer-reviewed human clinical trials. The founders say they have spent over a year on safety testing and will comply with U.S. regulatory frameworks before launching. They are drafting a human clinical protocol with hangover-research expert Dr. Joris Verster and plan a crowdfunding campaign to support a consumer launch in the U.S. The company is building a flexible gene-editing probiotic platform designed to target additional use-cases beyond hangovers.

Total raised

$17M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Aug 2024