BASF and Glycosyn signed a partnership agreement for the development and commercialization of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) for broad use in dietary supplements, functional nutrition, and medical food. The strategic partnership includes an exclusive license of Glycosyn´s patent portfolio for gut health beyond infant nutrition to BASF. The agreement aims to improve gastrointestinal health in adolescents and adults, along with broadening the applications of HMO for further health conditions.
 
As part of the collaboration and under the exclusive license, BASF will extend its offering of the most abundant HMO, 2’-Fucosyllactose (2’-FL) branded PREBILAC, to a broad range of customers worldwide.  Glycosyn will leverage its scientific expertise and extensive collaboration with the HMO research community to expand the evidence for adult health.
 
Emerging scientific evidence shows that 2’-FL supports the development and maintenance of a healthy gut microbiome and immune system. Based on its prebiotic functions and the ability to inhibit pathogen adhesion and modulate immune functions, 2’-FL is a very promising agent for digestive health across various age groups beyond infancy.
 
“Extending the reach of nature-designed HMO molecules from infant nutrition to dietary supplements, functional nutrition, and medical food addresses unmet consumer health needs and unlocks a huge market potential. Partnering with Glycosyn, the pioneer in the field of HMOs, to establish synergies and advance the science on HMOs for human gut health and even beyond, creates significant value for us and profound benefits for consumers,” said Tina Low, vice president, business management, human nutrition at BASF.
 
“The time has come to bring the benefits of HMO to consumers worldwide who suffer from gut discomfort or even diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). BASF’s scaled state-of-the-art production and extensive global customer access make them the ideal partner for us to jointly tap into this huge market potential and take nutrition to the next level,” added John Garrett, co-CEO, Glycosyn.
 
BASF launched its first HMO, PREBILAC 2’-FL for the infant nutrition market in 2019. By successfully mastering the complete in-house development from strain development to downstream processing in Germany, BASF manufactures PREBILAC 2’-FL at the quality and volume levels necessary to supply global human nutrition markets.
 
Glycosyn is a company specializing in the development of HMOs. Glycosyn has established and owns the unique intellectual property and know-how in the use of HMOs for the benefit of improving gastrointestinal health of adults, e.g. IBD and IBS as well as for use as prebiotics.