Microba Life Sciences (ASX:MAP) said it is “continuing to execute on plan” as it closed out the first half of FY26, highlighting strong growth in its core clinical testing products, progress toward regional breakeven in Australia and the United Kingdom, and a completed transition away from discontinued legacy revenue streams.
Core testing volumes rise; legacy revenues fully wound off
Management reported that core test volume increased 90% year-on-year for the quarter, reaching an annualized run rate of “over 21,300” tests. The company said it remains on track for its regional break-even guidance for core test volumes, with a target of “over 24,000” tests for the full financial year.
On expenses, Microba said net operating cash flows improved as disciplined cost management and operating expenditure reductions implemented in Q2 flowed through to a full quarter of benefit.
Market development: Australia moves into early adopters; UK tracking ahead of Australia’s launch curve
Microba framed its diagnostics business as creating a “new diagnostic category in clinical microbiome testing,” which it estimates represents a market worth “over $100 billion.” Management emphasized that adoption follows a staged, region-by-region approach aligned to the customer adoption curve, beginning with non-clinical entry and transitioning to clinical testing.
In Australia, Microba said clinical testing began in April 2023 with innovator clinicians and has progressed into early adopter uptake. The company highlighted a shift toward enterprise-style contracting with small to medium healthcare groups. Since November, Microba said it has signed 12 clinic account contracts in Australia, which it described as representing “meaningful recurring volume potential” and improving sales efficiency through higher average revenue per account.
In the UK, management said clinical testing began in May 2025 and remains in the innovator phase. Addressing what it characterized as a “slightly lower Q2 result,” the company compared UK Microbiome Explorer Comprehensive volumes to Australia’s launch trajectory and said the seasonal pattern was similar, including a slowdown into the Christmas period. Management said UK adoption is outperforming Australia by 33% at the equivalent time post-launch, attributing the relative outperformance to leveraging the acquired UK customer base, and said it expects momentum to accelerate through 2026.
Product updates: new biomarkers, enterprise workflows, and kit improvements
Microba highlighted three product feature releases during the quarter:
- Oral species biomarker: Now included in all Microbiome Explorer reports, this feature assesses oral microbe species detected in the gut. Management said the presence of oral microbes in the gut can indicate issues such as low stomach acid (commonly associated with proton pump inhibitor use) and can be a marker of intestinal inflammation. The biomarker reports on “over 410 oral species” using the company’s oral species index.
- Pay on invoice: Introduced to support enterprise sales workflows, the feature allows high-volume clinics to use 30-day payment terms via service agreements. Management said it has already driven strong conversion among targeted clinics and that the sales team is working through a pipeline of accounts with recurring volume potential.
- Sunday collection and simplified instructions: Operational changes now allow patients to collect and return samples on Sundays, expanding the sampling window. Microba also rolled out simplified kit instructions and sampling-kit improvements that reduced component costs by “about 18%,” with early feedback described as positive from both patients and clinicians.
The company also updated investors on a consolidation of its testing brands into a single “Microba” brand, replacing a mix of prior brand names. Management described the initiative as primarily focused on operational efficiency and marketing effectiveness, citing an early example: a reduction in time from practitioner sign-up to first referral from 12.4 days in November to 1.7 days in January after implementing streamlined lifecycle marketing.
Sales performance: Australia sets another record; supplements transition continues
In Australia, Microba said it delivered another record quarter for Microbiome Explorer (previously MetaExplore), with Q1 sales of 4,360 tests, up 90% year-on-year. That result equated to an annualized run rate of “over 17,400” tests, with ordering clinicians reaching 878 for the quarter. Management said the charts it tracks half-on-half show consistent volume step-ups and increasing volume per clinician as adoption broadens.
Microba also said MetaPanel adoption in Australia remained steady, reiterating that MetaPanel is not a primary growth focus at present. The company described the test as being in an early market development phase focused on gastroenterology specialists and clinical studies, with larger volume opportunity anticipated from FY2027 following evidence generation and key opinion leader work.
Within its “base” category, Microba discussed its UK nutritional supplements business and an ongoing transition toward higher-margin, owned and branded Invivo products and away from third-party distributed Designs for Health products. Management said the strategy delivered a record quarter for Invivo supplements, supported by a focus on its evidence-based PHGG prebiotic fiber supplement, which saw volume increase 110% year-on-year. The company also said a subscription offering launched in October has grown to over 300 subscribers, and that its Amazon performance improved from 99th to 12th position in the UK fiber supplement category since September.
Therapeutics: sector trial readouts shift partnering discussions; deal timing remains uncertain
Microba said its therapeutics program represents “attractive upside,” with the company having shifted from an R&D and investment phase into a partnering focus phase. Management said prospective pharma partners have been looking for phase 1b and phase 2a efficacy results to validate the live biotherapeutic modality in major chronic disease settings, and pointed to recent sector readouts as supportive.
The company cited several external milestones: Siolta Therapeutics’ successful phase 1b in pediatric allergy disease (November), MaaT Pharma’s phase 3 result in gastrointestinal acute graft-versus-host disease (December) that is now under review by the European Medicines Agency with a decision expected later this year, and EnteroBiotix’s positive phase 2a result in irritable bowel syndrome (January). Management said it is now awaiting results from Microbiotica, which it noted have been delayed but are expected “early this year.”
Responding to a shareholder question about what is inhibiting a deal, management said the recent results have translated into active partnering discussions, but added that transactions “don’t happen overnight,” and suggested some parties are waiting for additional readouts or early-mover deals to occur.
Looking ahead, Microba reiterated its FY26 priorities: continued clinical adoption and test sales growth in Australia and the UK, ongoing Microbiome Explorer feature releases (including additional SKUs in the UK), progress toward regional breakeven milestones, and active therapeutics partnering alongside expected sector trial readouts.
About Microba Life Sciences (ASX:MAP)
Microba Life Sciences Limited provides microbiome testing and analysis services for clinicians, consumers, and research customers in Australia, Europe, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Singapore. The company operates through two segments, Testing Services, and Research and Development. It offers pathology, therapeutics, and diagnostics services based on the human gut microbiome; testing and data analysis services for personal and research testing; and data-driven therapeutics platform that develops novel monoclonal microbial cell therapies for inflammatory bowel disease, cancer immunotherapy, and autoimmune diseases, as well as Databank for health and biome data.
