I want to mention in case anyone has forgotten...
If we already had a clear drug target for ME today, meaning we had amassed all the research and knowledge to show a very significant and treatable target in ME, then it would still be many years until we had a drug treatment available to us patients.
If we could repurpose an existing FDA approved drug for another disease we would still need to go through phase II and III clinical trials and FDA approval which would likely take 10 years. For an existing and safe non-FDA approved drug add to the 10 at least another 5 years, and to develop an entirely new drug for the target likely add to the 15 at least another 10 years. And all the above timelines assume a large pharmaceutical company is driving this because it requires an insane amount of cashflow to accomplish at the rate.
So I apologize if it upsets anyone, but I am just speaking the truth and the reality is that a broad microbiome discovery project, regardless of size, is not going to lead to any treatments for a very, very long time (decades).
To date, only a one or two companies have attempted to clinical trial microbiome targeting biotherapeutics and only for illnesses as low-hanging and straightforward as C. difficile infection and their drugs have failed miserably. The FDA also still has no idea how they are going to deal with approval of this new drug treatment modality, its the Wild West still and for the government that means additional bureaucracy and years of delays.
Ian Lipkin's work is going to forward Ian Lipkin's career and recognition way more than it will get us significantly closer to any treatment. Studying the microbiome is a hot new research field now because we know very little about it, and because of that something the NIH is interested in. From a new research field you will not get to drug treatments quickly.
Trust me I'm all for it from a research perspective to our further our basic understanding of human physiology and connection with disease, but let's not kid ourselves it will be forever until an FDA approved treatment comes from it for ME.