Chunlab says it can help you get to know your gut

Chunlab CEO Chun Jung-sik gives a presentation at the healthcare service's launch event in Gangnam District, southern Seoul on Tuesday. [CHUNLAB]

Bio company Chunlab has launched a healthcare service designed to help users get up close and personal with their own gut health.

According to the company, its personalized microbiome healthcare service includes a three-step process that diagnoses a customer's personal microbiome, prescribes customized probiotics and tracks the change in gut microorganisms through an app called Pibio.

A microbiome is the genetic material of all microbes living inside a human. In other words, it is the ecosystem of microorganisms living inside the body, mainly in the large intestines.

Users can either take a questionnaire or apply for lab analysis to figure out their individual microbiome index. According to the company, there are three common types of microbiomes in Korea.

The Pibio app helps monitor changes based on the user’s answers about their bowel movements, mood and stomach health. It also recommends changes in food and lifestyle based on the data. The company claims that its services and customized probiotics prescriptions can help users enhance their microorganism distribution.

Chunlab went public in December last year -- 10 years after it started off in a small bioinformatics lab at Seoul National University. The company was initially offered at 40,000 won ($33) per share. Last July, Chunlab inked a memorandum of understanding with the Green Cross to develop new drugs based on microbiomes.

“Our solution will help users take care of their microbiome health over their entire life cycle. The future of medicine will focus more on preventive measures than treatments -- we hope our system can play a crucial role in such change,” said professor Chun Jong-sik, the CEO of Chunlab.

BY KANG JAE-EUN [kang.jaeeun@joongang.co.kr]