Objective
Human breast milk is the ideal nutrition for infants, containing over 1,500 bioactive molecules essential for immune, intestinal, and brain development. Formula-fed infants, especially preterm, face higher risks of infections, allergies, and metabolic diseases due to missing these components. Despite WHO recommendations, exclusive breastfeeding rates remain low globally, hindered by medical, lifestyle, and cultural barriers. Current alternatives, such as cow’s milk-based, hydrolysed, and plant-based formulas, fail to match breast milk’s complexity, often lacking key nutrients and raise allergy and environmental concerns.
Nūmi is the first European biotech company to produce human breast milk and its key components ex vivo by cultivating human mammary cells in bioreactors. Through 3D organoid cell culture, Nūmi can produce a full spectrum of human milk constituents in their native form. Our goal is to provide optimal infant nutrition when breastfeeding is not possible or desired, and to supply high-value ingredients at scale and at an affordable cost. Our initial target is the €89B infant formula market, beginning with high-value B2B ingredients such as protein mixes and HMO blends, and progressing toward more complex formulations. Looking ahead, the benefits of breast milk constituents extend well beyond infancy, unlocking opportunities in the €133B adjacent specialised nutrition markets.
EIC funding will enable us to accelerate upstream bioproduction scale-up, enhance downstream purification processes, expand our portfolio through ingredient diversification, and achieve industrial-scale manufacturing. This support is crucial for bringing our innovative solutions to market efficiently and ensuring that safe, high-quality human milk-derived ingredients are accessible for infant nutrition and beyond.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental biotechnology bioremediation bioreactors
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine allergology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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HORIZON.3.1.2 - The Accelerator
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-EIC-ACC - HORIZON EIC Accelerator
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2026-ACCELERATOR-02
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
91000 EVRY-COURCOURONNES
France
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.