DuPont eyes By-Health partnership to bring probiotics to Chinese market

30 Sep 2019 --- DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences (DuPont) is seeking to bring probiotics to China via a strategic collaboration with By-Health, a leading Chinese consumer health care company. The research and development of probiotic dietary supplements with “new functions, new ingredients and new technologies” will be the foci of the partnership if it is brought to fruition. The collaboration will help DuPont further strengthen its position as a probiotic ingredient supplier.

“By-Health is the biggest traditional dietary supplements company in China with strong investment in R&D and positioned as a precise nutrition provider. The company’s expertise will be combined with DuPont’s range of probiotic strains, as well as its state-of-the-art microbiome platform combining genomics with gut microbiota to provide nutrition solutions to Chinese consumers,” Dr. Susan Jin, Asia Pacific Industry Director, Health & Biosciences, DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences, tells NutritionInsight.

DuPont will provide the widest range of probiotic strains, as well as develop human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) and other prebiotics, proteins and healthy ingredients, continues Jin. The collaboration will also include joint research on intestinal microecology and the development of new probiotic dietary supplements and applications for use.

“China is an important consumer market. With our expertise within probiotics and microbiome science, we would value a partnership with one of the leading consumer health care companies in the Asia Pacific to develop new probiotics-based products to satisfy consumers’ growing demand for natural health and wellness solutions,” says Anders Grøn, DuPont Vice President & Global Business Director of Probiotics, HMOs, & Fibers.

The collaboration will also include joint research on intestinal microecology.DuPont has a broad investment in this area globally, from research to production, adds Jin. The company recently opened a new state-of-the-art probiotics fermentation unit at its Rochester, New York, US, facility, as part of an overall US$100 million investment to expand its probiotics capacity. “These resources and platforms are the foundation of our service to By-Health; this is also why they hope to cooperate with DuPont,” Jin continues. 

Additionally, By-Health recently acquired Life-Space Group, one of the leading branded probiotic enterprises in Australia, producing and marketing probiotic products for all life stages. Meanwhile, DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences is a new segment in itself – the result of a US$6.2 billion business division created from DuPont Nutrition & Health and Industrial Biosciences Businesses. 

The expected partnership could be the latest in a string of collaboration for DuPont. Previously the company teamed up with BioMe Oxford to develop BioCapture, a smart, orally delivered capsule that can sample gut microbiota in both humans and animals. Earlier this year, the company also released a probiotic formula touted as delivering mood, vaginal and immune health benefits for women during pregnancy and beyond. 

The focus on digestive health in China is connected to gut transit, nutritional digestion, and strongly links to general well-being, according to Jin. A recent Beneo study found that Chinese consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of gut health and are seeking nutritional solutions within this space. 

By Katherine Durrell, with additional reporting by Laxmi Haigh