Nestlé and Helaina partner on bioactive proteins for early-life nutrition
Key takeaways
- Nestlé and Helaina are joining forces to study and advance bioactive proteins that could support early-life nutrition and development.
- The partnership combines Nestlé’s infant nutrition expertise with Helaina’s biotechnology platform for human-equivalent proteins.
- The collaboration reflects growing industry interest in breast milk-inspired bioactives for infant nutrition innovation.
Nestlé is partnering with US-based biotechnology company Helaina to advance early-life nutrition. The multiyear partnership aims to understand new bioactive proteins and their role in early-life development.
The Swiss company says the work will contribute to its ongoing efforts to translate scientific insights into nutrition solutions for specific health benefits.
“Nestlé has always been at the forefront of advancing scientific knowledge on key nutrients and bioactives that are important during early life, including their interactions with the gut microbiome and the immune system,” says Isabelle Bureau‑Franz, head of the Nestlé Product Technology Center for Nutrition & Health.
“Collaborations with external partners such as Helaina form an integral part of our broader open innovation strategy to deepen scientific understanding in this field, while gaining access to emerging technologies.”
Biotech for early life
The partnership will combine Nestlé’s expertise in early-life nutrition and product development with Helaina’s biotechnology capabilities.
Helaina develops human-equivalent proteins and received US$45 million in a funding round several years ago to expand the distribution of effera for women’s health, active nutrition, and healthy aging.
Helaina notes that effera is the world’s first human-identical lactoferrin. This protein, naturally found in breast milk, offers health benefits throughout the lifespan, including supporting immunity, maintaining balanced iron levels, improving gastrointestinal health, and supporting skin health.
“We believe new bioactive proteins present a significant innovation in nutrition right now,” says Laura Katz, founder and CEO of Helaina. “We’re focused on manufacturing these bioactives at scale with clinical credibility, and together with Nestlé, we can uncover new developments that advance early-life nutrition.”
Infant nutrition advances
In recent infant nutrition news, we talked with Leonie Health about the company’s bioactive colostrum, which it develops from donor milk to match colostrum — concentrated breast milk produced during the first 48–72 hours postpartum. The company’s CEO and founder told us that new production methods are key to addressing vulnerabilities in infant nutrition, like the contamination with cereulide toxin in infant formula earlier this year.
In Japan, human milk-based fortifiers are seen as essential products in medical nutrition instead of nutritional supplements. These boosters are added to mother’s or donor milk fed to premature babies to add essential nutrients.
Meanwhile, a German biotech start-up, Primogene, secured €4.1 million (US$4.76 million) in funding to commercialize complex, nature-identical bioactive molecules for infant nutrition, as well as pharmaceuticals and personal care for adults.
