Microba Banks $14.5M to Fast-Track Clinical Microbiome Testing in Australia and the UK

Microba Life Sciences (ASX:MAP) has secured $14.5 million in fresh funding to supercharge the clinical rollout of its microbiome testing platform, deepen partnerships, and firm up its path to profitability. The raise, consisting of a $12.5 million two-tranche placement and a fully underwritten $2 million Share Purchase Plan (SPP), was supported by institutional backers and strategic heavyweight Sonic Healthcare.

The raise comes with strings—but the good kind. For every two shares purchased, investors receive a free attaching option exercisable at 14 cents, adding an equity sweetener subject to shareholder approval. The placement price of 9 cents represented a 21.7% discount to Microba’s last close.

Sonic Healthcare, already Microba’s largest shareholder, is investing up to $8.3 million, doubling down on a partnership that has seen the companies align closely on diagnostic testing initiatives. This includes a newly inked commercial laboratory processing agreement with Sonic’s UK subsidiary, The Doctors Laboratory—the country’s largest medical diagnostics provider.

“This raise is about scaling our commercial operations and reaching clinical breakeven in key markets,” said chair Pasquale Rombola and deputy chair Ian Frazer in a joint statement. “We’ve now got the backing to push hard into Australia and the UK, with plans to expand into Europe and the US.”

Cash in hand post-raise is expected to top $26 million, with proceeds earmarked for:

• Accelerating adoption of microbiome testing in Australia and the UK;

• Expanding sales and commercial operations;

• Building clinical evidence to support wider use cases;

• Strengthening the balance sheet.

The company has also narrowed its FY25 revenue guidance to $15.4–$16 million, and is targeting regional breakeven in both Australia and the UK by the end of FY26. The broader objective is to achieve group breakeven within three years—a bold target underpinned by rapid uptake of its proprietary tests in gastrointestinal health.

In what amounts to a vote of confidence in both platform and team, Microba’s board and management committed an additional $290,000 to the placement.

Microba’s CEO, Dr Luke Reid, said the capital injection “gives us real momentum to expand our footprint, drive clinical adoption, and ultimately improve patient outcomes globally.”

Canaccord Genuity and Morgans Corporate acted as joint lead managers for the raise, which appears to have landed at the right time, with clear investor appetite despite the broader biotech funding squeeze.

With a strengthened balance sheet, fresh partnerships, and a global vision grounded in real-world application, Microba is edging closer to turning a high-tech health play into a commercially grounded, internationally scalable diagnostics business.