Breast milk's main whey protein is scarce in cow's milk. Three companies plan to brew it by fermentation
Dyadic, BRIG BIO and Strive Nutrition will develop precision-fermented alpha-lactalbumin, breast milk's main whey protein, aiming for GRAS in early 2028.
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BiotechNews.io5 min read
Dyadic Applied BioSolutions, BRIG BIO and Strive Nutrition said on November 10, 2026 that they will develop precision-fermented alpha-lactalbumin, the main whey protein in human breast milk, without cows. The partners are aiming to finish a self-affirmed GRAS review in early 2028 and then supply more than 10 metric tonnes.
Key points
- Alpha-lactalbumin makes up about 22% of the protein in human milk but only about 3.5% of the protein in cow's milk, according to a 2018 review in Nutrition Reviews.
- Dyadic (Nasdaq: DYAI) will supply its Dapibus microbial production platform, and BRIG BIO will work with it on raising yield, quality and production economics.
- Strive Nutrition, maker of the animal-free FREEMILK, will test protein samples for its FREEMILK platform and other Strive nutrition products.
- The partners are targeting completion of a self-affirmed GRAS process in early 2028, more than 10 metric tonnes of initial supply after it, and more than 200 metric tonnes a year over the longer term.
- The companies say they will then negotiate a definitive commercial supply agreement for the ingredient.
Why is alpha-lactalbumin hard to get from cow's milk?
Because cows make relatively little of it. In the Nutrition Reviews paper by Donald Layman, Bo Lönnerdal and John Fernstrom, alpha-lactalbumin is about 36% of the whey proteins in human milk against about 17% in bovine milk, where beta-lactoglobulin dominates the whey. The same review notes that adding alpha-lactalbumin lets infant formula be made with less total protein.
Strive's chief executive described the same problem from the manufacturing side: getting the protein out of dairy means separating it from many other milk proteins.
Historically, obtaining this valuable protein from conventional dairy sources has required separating it from numerous other milk proteins, creating challenges for cost-effective production at scale.
— Dennis Cohlmia, Chairman and CEO, Strive Nutrition Corp.
How will the three companies make precision-fermented alpha-lactalbumin?
They plan to produce bovine alpha-lactalbumin directly in microbes rather than isolating it from milk. Each partner covers one stage, according to the announcement:
| Partner | Role in the collaboration |
|---|---|
| Dyadic Applied BioSolutions (Jupiter, Florida) | Dapibus protein production platform, strain optimization and scale-up |
| BRIG BIO (Netherlands) | Precision-fermentation commercialization and regulatory work, and process development with Dyadic |
| Strive Nutrition (Wichita, Kansas) | Formulation and application testing of samples for FREEMILK and other Strive products |
Dyadic presents the deal as a model for how it intends to commercialize Dapibus, by working with partners along the whole chain from production to end product.
Our objective is not simply to demonstrate that Dapibus can produce commercially relevant proteins, but to work across the value chain to improve production economics, support scale-up and connect our technology with key partners, like BRIG BIO, that can help develop, manufacture, commercialize and ultimately use these products.
— Joe Hazelton, President and Chief Operating Officer, Dyadic
What does the GRAS timeline mean for supply?
Supply is planned to start after the GRAS work is done, which the companies are targeting for early 2028. Under FDA rules, a substance added to food can be used without food-additive review when qualified experts recognize it as shown to be safe for its intended use. In a self-affirmed process, the company makes that safety determination with its experts. The partners say initial availability of more than 10 metric tonnes would follow, with longer-term output above 200 metric tonnes a year.
Our analysis: for biotech readers, the interest is less the protein than the structure of the deal. A platform owner, a scale-up and regulatory specialist, and a brand that already sells a precision-fermented dairy protein in more than 2,000 stores have each taken one stage, from strain to finished product, so the ingredient has a named product team testing it while production is still being scaled. Earlier coverage on this site looked at how biotechnology is reshaping food and agriculture and at the regulatory path biotech products face.
Frequently asked questions
Which products could use the ingredient first?
Strive Nutrition says it will evaluate the protein for its FREEMILK platform and other Strive specialized nutrition products, and that bovine alpha-lactalbumin is already a major component of children's and adult nutritional products. BRIG BIO says it targets active and medical nutrition.
Is FREEMILK already on sale?
Yes. Strive says FREEMILK, made with animal-free BLG whey protein, is sold in more than 2,000 stores, including Walmart nationwide and 270 Hy-Vee stores in the Midwest, and online.
Where are the three companies based?
Dyadic is in Jupiter, Florida, and trades on Nasdaq as DYAI. BRIG BIO is based in the Netherlands, and Strive Nutrition is a family-founded company in Wichita, Kansas.
How much alpha-lactalbumin do the partners plan to make?
The companies are targeting initial commercial availability of more than 10 metric tonnes after the GRAS process, and a longer-term production scale of more than 200 metric tonnes a year.
Sources
- Announcement of the precision-fermented alpha-lactalbumin collaboration: press release from Dyadic Applied BioSolutions, BRIG BIO and Strive Nutrition via GlobeNewswire, 10 November 2026.
- Applications for α-lactalbumin in human nutrition: review by Donald K. Layman, Bo Lönnerdal and John D. Fernstrom, Nutrition Reviews, 2018.
- Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS): U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
- Dyadic Applied BioSolutions, BRIG BIO and Strive Nutrition: the companies' websites.