Laura Katz, MA, has a vision to improve health through food technology. Leveraging her background as a food scientist, she founded Helaina, the company she helms as CEO. The company built a precision fermentation platform to recreate the bioactive proteins found in human colostrum and milk to improve health for people of all ages.
The Birth of an Idea
Katz's ah-ha idea stems from her experience with alternative dairy and meat products. While most of the industry focuses on using technology to advance taste, flavor, and texture, she recognized the potential to use biotechnology instead to create healthier nutrients.
"I had always cared a lot about how to make our foods healthier," Katz explains. "I thought, what does the future of food as medicine look like with technology [like precision fermentation] being accessible now to the food industry?"
A podcast about the black market for breast milk also sparked Katz's idea. It revealed that not only desperate new parents sought to purchase breast milk for its bioactive proteins but also cancer patients, immunocompromised individuals, bodybuilders, and athletes. Why? What breast milk nutrients can accomplish for babies also translates into adults: supporting gut health, immune function, and cognition. This demand signaled an opportunity for Katz to replicate these proteins for daily use across different life stages.
"When I heard this, I was like, well, there's all this great stuff happening in the food industry already. Can we not channel this technology towards replicating the thing that people are seeking out of breast milk, and therefore bring those proteins as nutrients to the food supply for the first time?"
The Significance of Bioactive Proteins in Maternal Milk
The benefits of human colostrum and milk are widely studied in both infants and adults. The Helaina team evaluated all the scientific research on colostrum and breast milk to determine which components to bring to market. Ultimately, the company set its sights on lactoferrin. Lactoferrin is the most abundant bioactive protein in human colostrum, and it has been extensively clinically studied for its ability to modulate iron levels and support immune health and gut health.
It took years of experimentation to establish the precision fermentation platform to recreate human proteins and, ultimately, human lactoferrin, but Helaina has succeeded. The team has studied the structural and functional properties of its manufacturered lLactoferrin and compared it to what’s found natively in human and cow's milk. This scientific approach ensures that Helaina's products meet the nutritional and health benefits associated with breast milk.
"We're making bioactive proteins, so they're not just purely nutritional, and they don't just deliver calories and a protein source. They have [an] impact within your biology as bioactive implies," says Katz. "Part of our goal to establish this new kind of category of nutrients is that they are clinically backed and proven in their functional properties."
Differentiation in the Market
Helaina operates in a niche within the biomanufacturing sector. While other companies have used similar fermentation technologies to produce ingredients like omega-3 fatty acids and industrial enzymes, Helaina focuses on human milk bioactive proteins. This focus presents technological challenges, such as teaching yeast cells to produce human-like proteins at a scalable and cost-effective rate.
"We're teaching yeast how to be human," Katz explains. "We take yeast cells; we engineer them, we play with the 5,000 genes in yeast, turn them up, turn them down, swap things in and out to make the thing that comes out of that yeast human in structure and do that in a way that's scalable and at the same cost as food.”
Naming and Legacy
The name "Helaina" has personal significance for Katz. Named after her great-grandmother, who emigrated to Canada in the early 1900s, the company reflects warmth, resilience and a commitment to family. Helaina's name aligns with the company's mission to provide nurturing and health-promoting food options.
"I wanted the name of the company to feel warm and feminine," Katz says. "Helaina was the name of my great-grandmother, who emigrated to Canada, escaping Jewish prejudice in the early 1910s. She lived her whole life for her children, and this company is dedicated to her."
Future Prospects
Helaina's journey is just beginning. The company is commercializing its products, targeting adult nutrition through dietary supplements and food products. The near-term focus includes launching branded ingredients in women's health and active nutrition sectors. The first is effera™ (Human Lactoferrin). By replicating human lactoferrin, Helaina opens access to this functional ingredient for the first time, creating a new paradigm for nutrition.
"We are launching in the third quarter in 2024 and primarily focused on adult women's health and active nutrition with partners that we sell our ingredient to as a branded ingredient," says Katz. "Our medium term is to get to infant nutrition. Infant formula is our North Star."
Long-term, Katz envisions a world where Helaina’s bioactive proteins are accessible to every baby and adult globally. This mission underscores her belief in the potential of these proteins to improve health outcomes.
"Our vision is to create access to these bioactives for every baby and adult in the world. We know that we can fundamentally change health outcomes through these proteins in how people eat," Katz concludes. "It's a massive endeavor, but it's one that we are fully committed to."
Want to know more: Watch Cure's Tuesday Talk with Katz.