DSM files patent infringement lawsuit for algal lipids, partners with Floré for precision prebiotics

Royal DSM has filed a lawsuit against the Mara Renewables Corporation and Algal Omega-3 LTD, alleging unlawful use of the company’s algae-based docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) innovations in the UK. At the same time, DSM has teamed up with Floré by Sun Genomics and invested in the company’s customizable probiotics via DSM Venturing.

Concerning the patent infringement lawsuit, Gareth Barker, SVP of global marketing and business development at DSM, tells NutritionInsight, “DSM believes Mara and AO3 are using three patents without permission. These specific patents focus on protecting DSM’s DHA oil products themselves, the aqueous processes and enzymatic extraction methods used to produce these ingredients.”

According to Barker, there is no way to tell exactly how long the infringement has been occurring, as the duration will need to be determined by the courts. “We believe we’ll have a decision early in 2024,” he explains.

We have also contacted Mara Renewables Corporation for a response.

Regarding the partnership, NutritionInsight speaks with the founder and CEO of Floré, Sunny Jain. 

“We believe this partnership is a clear signal that personalized solutions can achieve significant market share and scale,” says Jain. “It also may be an indicator that probiotics have reached a saturation point for one-size-fits-all, and new offerings with prebiotics, probiotics and botanicals need to be created in order to grow the market.”

“We hope that this partnership will help further revolutionize the probiotics sector and improve the gut health of the millions of people who struggle with gastrointestinal issues. As leaders in the precision nutrition space, strategic pairings such as this provide us with the connections and resources to make our products more easily accessible to consumers across the globe.”

Protecting patents
The patents – EP 3 530 740 B1, EP 1 921 155 B1 and EP 2 576 801 B1 – are what the lawsuit is defending by asking for financial compensation for both past and ongoing patent infringement. Moreover, DSM has requested the court to order both Mara and AO3 to cease the production and sale of DHA oil produced using its patented technologies.

DSM is one of the world’s leading producers of DHA oil and is well-known as such through its life’sARA, life’sDHA, life’sOMEGA and other products,” underscores Barker. “We developed algal-based nutritional lipids more than 35 years ago and were the first company to bring these products to market.”

“The patents vary in scope, either protecting products or processes, and remaining lifetime,” says Barker. “The youngest patent will last until 2031. It’s in our and our customers’ interests to protect these patents so we can continue to develop innovative and sustainable solutions.” 

Additionally, Barker states that DSM is confident in the court case and its patents, adding that the European Patent Office (EPO) recently ruled in the company’s favor regarding one of the patents in the lawsuit.

Personalized and precise biotics
According to Jain, Floré utilizes patented whole-DNA genome sequencing and gut-composition analysis to provide personalized probiotics specifically formulated for the individual customer’s gut microflora. Additionally, Jain says that the company’s technology can detect more than 23,000 organisms, including fungi, bacteria, yeast, viruses and parasites. The partnership with Floré will help scale-up the company’s patented personalized precision probiotic technology.

Customers who sign up for subscriptions receive a comprehensive microflora test kit for their stool and – following analysis – get a monthly supply of one-pill-a-day personalized formulated with the company’s inventory of more than 80 clinically validated pro and prebiotic strains cold shipped to their home. 

Jain further explains that customers have “access to check their gut health scores and track health goals overtime on the Floré mobile app or online portal, opportunities to retest their gut health every four months for free, as well as for one-on-one consultations to review their results with the company’s scientific liaisons.”

“In 2021, we began to execute our long-standing clinical strategy to drive the adoption of microbiome analysis as standard-of-care. We have expanded offerings to help our clients build a more comprehensive picture of their overall gut health.”

Additionally, the company has stand-alone and add-on tests for calprotectin (a biomarker for inflammation), heavy metals and gastrointestinal pathogens that some insurance can reimburse. 

Mutually beneficial
The nutrition and bioscience players were paired together during MassChallenge Switzerland’s Sustainable Food Solutions Challenge – a start-up accelerator challenge that aims to bring corporations and sustainable start-ups together to help upscale production and ideas. Floré maintains that it is the world’s first and only fully customized precision probiotic.

“This partnership is mutually beneficial,” says Jain. “Together, we will collaborate on research, including DSM’s use of our unique manufacturing process and algorithms to gain insight into novel ingredients.” 

“In return, DSM will help us source high-quality ingredients for our products while allowing us to take advantage of its deep knowledge base and extensive business network.”

By William Bradford Nichols