Project description
Novel probiotic components to boost health benefits of infant formula
Human breast milk contains hundreds of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) that promote healthy gut microbiota development, resulting in decreased incidence of infections and chronic diseases. Available infant formulae contain a maximum of two HMOs, failing to provide breast milk health benefits. The Swiss company GNUbiotics has developed a novel prebiotic ingredient that mimics the HMOs profile and is obtained from the by-products of the farming industry. The company has produced a pilot batch of this proprietary compound and demonstrated its performance in preclinical studies. The EU-funded GNU200 project will enable the development of industrial capabilities and fulfilling the regulatory and marketing requirements.
Objective
Despite declining birth rates and the increasing number of campaigns to promote and support breastfeeding, the market for infant milk substitutes is growing. This is explained by the increasing employed female population, as well as inconvenience to breastfeed out of home. Scientific evidence indicates that breastfeeding protects against child infections and malocclusion, increases intelligence, and reduces overweight and diabetes’ probability. As an alternative to breastfeeding, parents choose to feed their babies with infant milk formulae that cannot replicate the effects and benefits of breast milk because fundamental components such as prebiotic human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are not included. To compensate for this lack of HMOs, oligosaccharides such as GOS and FOS are included, even though they are poor mimics of HMOs with minimal evidence of efficacy. HMOs, the third most abundant component in breast milk, are molecules naturally tailored to the need of an infant which serve as prebiotics that help shape microbiota composition, protect infants from diseases, foster healthy gastrointestinal systems, reinforce fledgling immune function, and promote early brain development. Adding HMOs in formulae will substantially improve child benefits, mimicking breast milk composition (bringing formulae closer to nature).
We, GNUbiotics, are a start-up that has developed GNU 200 thought a process based on a by-product from the meat industry. This natural prebiotic composed of a mix with high diversity and concentration of oligosaccharides with proven efficacy. Our product protects against infections, restores the microbiota diversity after antibiotics treatment and prevents the onset of diet induced obesity similarly to HMOs found in breast milk. Hence, it represents a great business opportunity several steps ahead than alternatives.
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.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine endocrinology diabetes
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
- medical and health sciences health sciences dietetics
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition obesity
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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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H2020-EU.3.2. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.3.2.4. - Sustainable and competitive bio-based industries and supporting the development of a European bioeconomy
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H2020-EU.3.2.1. - Sustainable agriculture and forestry
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H2020-EU.2.3.1. - Mainstreaming SME support, especially through a dedicated instrument
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H2020-EU.3.2.2. - Sustainable and competitive agri-food sector for a safe and healthy diet
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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.
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1
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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) H2020-SMEInst-2016-2017
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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.
1066 EPALINGES
Switzerland
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.