Firms Advance Probiotics Projects

Two partnerships are advancing probiotics, one for animals and the other for humans. Novozymes and Adisseo, a subsidiary of China National BlueStar, have launched Alterion, a probiotic based on a strain of Bacillus subtilis found in soil, as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters for poultry. Novozymes developed and now produces the feed supplement; Adisseo performed in vivo testing and is responsible for sales. In a separate development, probiotics expert Chr. Hansen will work with Caelus Health, a Netherlands-based firm focused on metabolic disease treatments, to produce a strain of Eubacterium hallii now undergoing Phase I trials as a probiotic to reduce insulin resistance in humans. The deal calls for Chr. Hansen to develop a production process and produce pilot material of Caelus’s lead strain, CP-001, for Phase II clinical trials.