UK-based Better Dairy—one of a flurry of startups producing casein proteins via precision fermentation—has moved into new territory with the successful production of osteopontin, a bioactive protein found in mammalian milk, bones, and tissue.
Osteopontin, which is abundant in human milk but less so in cow’s milk, can impact growth, immunity, cognitive development and gut health in infants, but has also been shown to support bone health, tissue regeneration and immune function in adults, although more human clinical data is needed to support claims.
However, it has historically only been available in small quantities for research purposes owing to the costs and challenges of isolating it from cow’s milk (thousands of liters are required to make a single kilo).
Better Dairy, which produces osteopontin via a genetically engineered yeast strain, believes markets in infant formula, sports nutrition, healthy aging products and dietary supplements could be unlocked if a new source of supply becomes available, director of strategy and partnerships Trishala Bopanna told AgFunderNews.
“We see a real opportunity here both in infant formula and adult nutrition.”
Post translational modifications
Several companies are producing osteopontin in human cells for research purposes, but only a handful such as Triton Algae Innovations and PFX Biotech have experimented with producing it via precision fermentation with microbial cells, and no one has yet commercialized this approach, said Bopanna.
“What we think gives us a massive head start is that osteopontin is a highly phosphorylated protein [a protein that has had a phosphate group added to it, which can significantly change how it behaves] and we are able to do those post translational modifications that are crucial to its biological activity.
“The same applies to the casein proteins we make. We’ve managed to nail phosphorylation in our yeast host and we’ve got a published patent on that, which is a unique selling point.
“Because we’d already cracked the phosphorylation for casein proteins, we were able to achieve the same for osteopontin. We engineer the microorganism to do the phosphorylation in the upstream process, so that when the protein is expressed, it is phosphorylated.”
She added: “We’re currently doing scale up trials and working through the GRAS process with the hope to have self-affirmed GRAS by Q1 2026 so we can go to market, and then we’ll submit a notification to the FDA.”
‘A more rapid route to profitability’
Better Dairy is “now working on a version two production strain that can deliver higher productivity than the strain we’re using now,” Bopanna noted. “But the attractive thing about osteopontin is that it’s a much higher value product than casein and it’s only needed in small concentrations in the end product, so we see this as a more rapid route to profitability.”
As for market interest, she added, “Lots of companies have heard of osteopontin, although most have no practical experience with it because it’s so expensive. Arla Food Ingredients, for example, offers a bovine milk-sourced osteopontin that it markets to infants.”
Stepping back, she said, “I think we’re seeing more companies in the precision fermentation space recognize that they have to start with the highest value ingredients and use them as a stepping stone to move to the more commoditized ones. But I think the fact that Helaina [making bioactives such as human lactoferrin via precision fermentation] just raised $45 million provided some confidence.”
On the casein proteins side of the business, she said, “We’ve done proof of concept work with K.Lactis [a yeast commonly used in biomanufacturing] and we’re now working on moving that over to Aspergillus [a fungal platform also widely used in biomanufacturing] as it’s more productive.
“Filamentous fungi are trickier to work with but you can get far higher yields.”
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