guilden

guilden
corporation

Transforming pharmaceutical development through pharmacomicrobiomics — engineering the microbiome to direct how nutrients, supplements and drugs are metabolized.

UC SCIENCE

Founded on University of California research — co-founder Karsten Zengler developed the fundamental technology in his UCSD lab and the Center for Microbiome Innovation, and co-founder Andrew Bartko put it to use across functional foods, nutraceuticals and pharmaceutical applications.

compound engineered microbiome metabolite
the pharma problem

drug development is expensive, slow, and mostly fails

Most candidates never reach patients — and a major reason hides in plain sight. The microbiome is treated as noise instead of a variable that can be designed.

8%

reach commercialization

Only 8% of Phase 1 drug candidates make it to market.

rising development costs

The cost to develop a drug doubles roughly every nine years — Eroom's Law.

60%

fail on efficacy or toxicity

Lack of efficacy (30%) and toxicity (30%) drive most trial failures.

Roughly 75% of oral medications are metabolized by the gut microbiome — yet drug development still accounts for almost none of it.

vision

precision medicine and nutrition, accounting for the microbiome

We envision a world where the microbiome is a designed input to every therapy and formulation — where efficacy is predictable, toxicity is minimized, and non-responders become responders.

the vision

An era of precision medicine and nutrition where individual microbiome variation is measured, understood, and engineered — not left to chance.

our mission

Be the bridge between microbiome science and product development — systematically mapping microbiome–compound interactions and directing the metabolism of nutrients, supplements and drugs.

thinking differently

Rather than colonizing new probiotics into an already dysbiotic niche, we selectively modulate the microbiome that's already there — a prebiotic-based approach grounded in resource competition.

the platform

a systematic pharmacomicrobiomics platform

Guilden's platform directs compound metabolism toward targeted health outcomes, across four connected mechanisms.

mechanism 01

biotransformation

Direct chemical alteration of a nutrient, supplement or drug compound by microbial enzymatic activity.

mechanism 02

targeted microbiome alteration

Feed specific substrates to target community members, shifting their abundance through naturally occurring resource competition.

mechanism 03

metabolic engineering

Steer the microbes that selectively metabolize a compound so it's converted into the desired form.

mechanism 04

health modulation

Microbial metabolites modulate host gene expression, immune response and nutrient availability in the bloodstream.

story

Every drug meets the microbiome before it meets the patient. Almost no one designs for that.

Guilden Corporation began with a simple, stubborn fact from the lab: the same compound behaves differently in different people, and much of that difference lives in the gut. Drug–microbiome interactions are known to exist — but the field of pharmacomicrobiomics remains barely characterized, and drug development has largely ignored the microbiome as a variable.

Founded in Delaware in 2024 by Andrew Bartko and Karsten Zengler, Guilden grew out of University of California research and set out to build the missing framework: a systematic way to categorize, predict and engineer how the microbiome metabolizes what we ingest.

The approach is deliberately pragmatic. Instead of introducing new organisms into a disturbed ecosystem, Guilden uses prebiotic substrates to modulate the microbiome that's already there — directing metabolism toward better efficacy and fewer toxic side effects, starting with foods and supplements and building toward drug adjuvants.

who it's for

partners across the value chain

The same platform creates value from the grocery aisle to the clinic — for anyone whose product has to survive contact with the microbiome.

01

food producers

Substantiate evidence-based functional-food health claims.

02

OTC & supplements

Optimize formulations for bioavailability and fewer side effects.

03

pharma developers

Predict responders and de-risk efficacy and toxicity in trials.

04

adjuvant partnerships

Pair new therapies with prebiotic adjuvants Guilden designs and manufactures.

traction

a company that's already moving

  • Incorporated in Delaware by founders Andrew Bartko and Karsten Zengler.
  • Grounded in University of California research from the UCSD lab of co-founder Karsten Zengler.
  • Phil Schofield recruited as GM; lab and analytical partners established.
  • Three research contracts secured on Guilden technology.
Oncology startup
Identifying gut organisms & metabolites linked to higher chemotherapy response.
Global OTC manufacturer
Optimizing dietary supplement conversion and fewer side effects.
Global H&BA / OTC manufacturer
Modeling micronutrient conversion into health-protective metabolites.
service 01

services to OTC & supplements

Fee-for-service analysis that optimizes formulations and substantiates evidence-based claims — funding operations from day one.

service 02

services to drug developers

Consulting and microbial-metabolism assessment that de-risks trials and builds proprietary data and client relationships.

service 03

adjuvant design & manufacture

Guilden designs and manufactures proprietary prebiotic adjuvants that augment drug efficacy and reduce off-target effects, in partnership with drug developers.

team

the people building it

AB

Andrew Bartko

CEO & Founder

KZ

Karsten Zengler

CSO & Founder

PS

Philip Schofield

General Manager

get in touch

work with guilden

Sign up for updates from Guilden Corporation, or reach out to explore a pharmacomicrobiomics engagement.