Development programme for bovine alpha-lactalbumin from 21st.Bio

21st.BIO, a technology partner in precision fermentation, has launched a new development programme for bovine alpha-lactalbumin (α-lac) after exclusively licensing the high-yield microbial strain from Novonesis.

Alpha-lactalbumin is a highly functional milk protein rich in essential amino acids. It is easy to digest and is linked to immune and cognitive development benefits. Bovine α-lac is currently used in infant nutrition, functional food and health-focused applications. 21st.BIO is optimising the Novonesis-developed strain for industrial fermentation, scale-up and commercialisation.

Today, producing α-lac from bovine milk is costly and inefficient, making it one of the most expensive dairy proteins on the market. About a thousand liters of milk must be fractionated to obtain a kilogram of α-lac.

“Alpha-lactalbumin is incredibly valuable, but current supply from cow’s milk is limited. It is challenging and costly to extract at scale, which is why current supply is mostly reserved for the very high-end infant formula market,” said Thomas Schmidt, CEO of 21st.BIO. “Through precision fermentation, we make production more efficient, sustainable, and – most importantly – available to many, not just the few. On top of this, we are able to produce α-lac of high purity, an important parameter for infant nutrition.”

“We are proud to see our world-class strain being brought to market to solve current challenges in food and nutrition by 21st.BIO” said Thomas Batchelor, senior vice president of advanced health and protein solutions at Novonesis. “We continually strive to be at the forefront of innovation and this strain is one result of our pioneering work in R&D, strain development and production. We see α-lac as a great fit to 21st.BIO’s strategy and portfolio, making it the right path forward while we in Novonesis continue to focus on other protein innovation and we’re excited about the future of protein made with precision fermentation.”