NIZO – Nimble Science partnership: offering advanced nutritional insights on the gut and immunity via Nimble’s SIMBA™ GI Platform

The innovative SIMBA™ GI Platform is anticipated to mark a breakthrough in exploring the microbiome and metabolites of the small intestine, and is the reason why NIZO announced today its decision to begin offering the SIMBA™ capsule to its customers.

The small intestine is no longer out of reach…

The gut microbiome has long been recognized for its critical role in human health. Recent years have seen numerous studies reinforcing evidence of the intricate relationship between the gut microbiome and both the immune system, as well as heart and brain health. Despite its recognised importance, the gut microbiome remains an area with numerous unresolved questions that science has not yet fully explored. A key challenge in furthering the impact of the gut microbiome has been the lack of easy and cost-effective access to the nutritionally critical region of the small intestine.

Nimble’s consumer-friendly SIMBA™ capsule is the first commercially available low-cost passive device to enable sampling of the small intestine outside the hospital or clinic. The innovative SIMBA™ GI Platform is anticipated to mark a breakthrough in exploring the microbiome and metabolites of the small intestine, and is the reason why NIZO announced today its decision to begin offering the SIMBA™ capsule to its customers.

The collaboration between Nimble and NIZO will pioneer the use of the SIMBA™ capsule within a broad range of studies to empower food ingredient and product applications. This innovative approach promises to provide additional health benefits substantiation and thoroughly assess the impact of specific foods and dietary supplements such as pre-, pro- and synbiotics on the microbiome in the small intestine, in an affordable manner and timeframe. It also sets the stage for a deeper understanding of the gut microbial ecosystem, ultimately aiming at enhancing human health.

Applicable in food and dietary supplement industries

Nimble’s SIMBA™ capsule has been clinically validated against endoscopy to collect an uncontaminated high-quality sample from the deepest and previously inaccessible regions of the small intestine – housing one of the most bioactive and critical microbial environments. “The microbiome and metabolomic profiles we see in the small intestine through SIMBA™ have direct and immediate applicability to food and dietary supplement innovation. Significant differences, particularly in key metabolites such as bile acids and short chain fatty acids are significantly different from what we have seen in the feces and are comparable to endoscopy. Reliance on fecal samples has provided us with only half of the picture.” said Nimble CTO Dr. Joseph Wang. Nimble’s technology, ease of administration and actionable health data insights are unparalleled in comparison with competing solutions, and Nimble has been actively partnering with microbiome leaders around the world to deliver these new datasets.

“For the past 75 years, NIZO has continuously updated its knowledge and technology to ensure it remains at the forefront of food innovation, offering the highest quality solutions to customers. We eagerly anticipate the positive outcomes of SIMBA™ after thorough validation and experience.” NIZO CEO, Nikolaas Vles, elaborated, “By combining Nimble’s innovation with our integrated expertise and technological capabilities, we can even better serve our customers’ needs to substantiate the nutritional impact that food can deliver on microbiome-related gut health, immunity and brain health.”

“The time is now for our SIMBA™ product to support the advancement of human health through better nutrition and food as medicine. The introduction of endoscopy-quality liquid biopsies collected from large cohorts within the home is a game changer. ”, said Nimble CEO Dr. Sabina Bruehlmann. “The partnership between Nimble and NIZO will place this innovative technology within the trusted hands on an industry leader, enabling food, ingredient and dietary supplement companies, to easily integrate this new sampling type within their development programs with NIZO.”

“For quite some time, our customers have been seeking more precise insights into the dynamics of the gut microbiome. We are enthusiastic about our collaboration with Nimble and to offer innovative research services including SIMBA™ capsule, as part of our Health Benefit and Nutritional Impact value proposition.”, said Ioana Iorga, Business Development Manager at NIZO. “Through our advanced preclinical and clinical platform, we can support a range of services, from the discovery of microbiome modulation and defining function of interests to gaining mechanistic understanding to better serve our customers’ needs.”

About NIZO Food Research

Based in Ede, the Netherlands, NIZO Food Research B.V. is a globally leading, private, and independent contract research organization specializing in food and health innovation for over 75 years. Operating the largest food-grade pilot plant for third-party use in Europe, we leverage the integrated power of science and technology to help our customers in transforming food and nutrition more successfully, sustainably and faster; ultimately leading to better food and health.