All G and Armor Protéines announce joint venture to commercialize lactoferrin

Australian biotech company All G and French bioactives supplier Armor Protéines have established a joint venture to produce and commercialize human and bovine lactoferrin. Additionally, All G has raised over AU$10 million (US$6.6 million) to inject additional capital into scaling its first bovine lactoferrin, which is set to launch in Q1 2026, followed by human lactoferrin at the end of next year.

The companies say their venture will “transform how lactoferrin is made, purchased, and consumed.” This potent functional milk protein has antimicrobial properties and can support iron absorption, with applications in infant nutrition, nutraceuticals, personal care, and therapeutics. 

The joint venture will combine All G’s precision fermentation platform and scientific capabilities with Armor Protéines’ knowledge of high-value, bioactive functional milk proteins.

The venture includes human lactoferrin as a pathway to create infant formulas that more closely reflect the protein profile of breast milk. All G states that it has overcome technical barriers to create human lactoferrin through precision fermentation, which is bioequivalent to the native form with over 95% purity.

New form of lactoferrin

Lactoferrin offers health benefits throughout the lifespan, including support for immune function, maintaining balanced iron levels, promoting improved gastrointestinal health, and enhancing skin health. Research also indicates that it is as effective as iron treatment for low hemoglobin.

Traditionally, the protein is extracted from cow’s milk. The companies illustrate that this requires “thousands of liters of milk” for 1 kg of lactoferrin. Therefore, it is a very expensive functional ingredient and is only used in a limited share of infant formula, mainly in premium products.

However, the companies note that developing alternatives to animal-based lactoferrin through precision fermentation has been constrained by technical barriers. For example, it is challenging to replicate native glycosylation patterns and achieve sufficient yields for commercial viability.

All G notes that it has overcome these barriers, enabling the production of high-purity lactoferrin with consistent quality and a scalable production process, supporting greater global accessibility.

As its first recombinant human milk protein, the company says this is a step toward improving early-life nutrition and bringing infant formula closer to the composition of human milk.

Scaling production

All G has completed pilot-scale production of its recombinant bovine lactoferrin. It has a self-affirmed generally recognized as safe status for adult nutrition in the US and is approved for personal care sales in China.

Meanwhile, Armor Protéines will leverage its expertise in bioactives, large-scale ingredient manufacturing, and commercialization of infant formula ingredients, and relationships with nutrition companies to scale the human lactoferrin production “rapidly and reliably” through global markets.

In other lactoferrin developments, Singapore-based TurtleTree has also developed an animal-free lactoferrin through precision fermentation. The company has partnered with Mad Foods to introduce a coffee beverage line in Singapore and works with nutrition company Strive to bring lactoferrin-infused immune support drinks to the market.