Strive Nutrition, a food technology startup in Wichita, Kansas, has teamed up with the US biotech company Dyadic Applied BioSolutions and the Dutch precision fermentation specialist Brig Bio to scale up production of alpha-lactalbumin, a whey protein, made by microbes rather than cows. The partners are aiming for regulatory clearance of the ingredient in 2028.
Precision fermentation inserts DNA into microbes so that, when fermented, they produce a chosen molecule. Dyadic brings its Dapibus protein production platform and its work on strain optimisation and scale-up, Brig Bio its commercialisation and regulatory experience, and Strive, which sells the Freemilk brand of animal-free milks, its product development and route to market. Dyadic and Brig Bio will optimise production for yield, quality and cost, while Strive tests samples for its own products.
The protein is costly to get the conventional way. It takes 1,000 litres of milk to produce 1 kg of purified alpha-lactalbumin, making it one of the most expensive dairy proteins. It makes up about 17% of the whey in cow's milk but around 36% of the whey in human milk, which is why it is prized as an ingredient for infant formula. Strive co-founder and chief executive Dennis Cohlmia called it the "predominant whey protein" in breast milk, and said separating it from other milk proteins has made cost-effective production at scale difficult.
Strive launched Freemilk in 2022 with beta-lactoglobulin, the main whey protein in cow's milk at about 75% of whey, supplied by the precision fermentation company Perfect Day. Over the last 12 months Freemilk has reached Walmart shelves in 48-ounce bottles of original and chocolate milk with 10 g of animal-free whey protein per cup.
Once the protein is scaled up, its regulatory readiness established and commercial agreements signed, the partners plan initial commercial supply of more than 10 tonnes, following a self-determination that the ingredient is Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS), and aim for more than 200 tonnes a year in the long term. "Combining those capabilities with Strive's product-development expertise and potential commercial application provides a realistic framework for moving alpha-lactalbumin from development toward market," said Brig Bio co-founder and chief executive Steven Welle.
Photo: Janine Chedid / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Green Queen
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