Novonesis Invests in TurtleTree to Scale Up Cow-Free Lactoferrin for Early Nutrition

Danish biotech giant Novonesis has signed an exclusive deal to scale up and commercialise TurtleTree’s precision-fermented lactoferrin protein, following investment in the Singaporean startup.

Singapore’s TurtleTree has taken a giant leap in its effort to bring its cow-free lactoferrin protein to the masses.

A year after securing a ’no questions’ letter from the US Food and Drug Administration, the precision fermentation startup has secured an exclusive agreement with Novonesis’s Human Health division to scale, manufacture and commercialise the recombinant bovine lactoferrin.

Novonesis, a sister company of Ozempic producer Novo Nordisk, will target the early-life nutrition market with its scale-up efforts, while securing selected commercial rights for dietary supplements.

Additionally, the Danish biotech leader has made a minor investment in TurtleTree. It’s joined by 21Catalyst Ventures, the VC arm of Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals, in the funding effort, whose sum remains undisclosed.

“Our state-of-the-art production facility in Blair in the US is well-positioned to manufacture this lactoferrin ingredient, unlocking new protein possibilities for early life, nutrition, and dietary supplements,” said Thomas Batchelor, senior VP for early life and specialised nutrition at Novonesis.

“Our aim is to make lactoferrin more accessible and cost-competitive and showcase what is achievable with precision fermentation in early life nutrition and dietary supplements,” he added. “If successfully scaled, this will enable customers to deliver proven health benefits to consumers more efficiently.”

TurtleTree looks to make lactoferrin ’economically available’ with Novonesis deal

Precision fermentation involves inserting a specific DNA sequence into microbes to teach them to produce the desired molecules when fermented. TurtleTree leverages this tech to make a bioidentical bovine lactoferrin.

An iron-binding glycoprotein with over 690 amino acids, lactoferrin is revered for its antiviral, antibacterial, immunity-boosting, and gut-strengthening properties, and is used to treat low iron levels during pregnancy, lower the risk of respiratory tract infections, and enhance metabolism.

It’s present in both human milk and bovine colostrum. In the latter, though, it’s available in much smaller concentrations, and extracting 1kg of purified lactoferrin requires at least 10,000 litres of milk. This drives up costs – ranging from $600 to $2,000 per kg – and makes lactoferrin supply reserved for applications like infant nutrition and premium supplements.

Producing it via microbes in bioreactors can solve this bottleneck and enable companies to scale up the ingredient. TurtleTree’s version, LF+, is well-suited for a range of applications, including sports nutrition, women’s health, adult and elderly nutrition, and functional foods.

LF+ has already been commercialised through TurtleTree’s consumer brand Intentional. Its first supplement, IronKind, combines lactoferrin with prebiotics to support iron regulation, improve energy levels, and enhance gut health. The ingredient is also used in cold brew espresso shots from Cadence Performance Coffee.

In addition, TurtleTree has entered into a partnership with animal-free dairy company Strive Nutrition to use lactoferrin in an immunity-support beverage and a ready-to-mix protein powder. The latter launched a line of milks with precision-fermented beta-lactoglobulin protein last year instead, but told Green Queen it was still working with TurtleTree.

Now, it is set for a large-scale expansion through the Novonesis partnership, which will help secure ample, high-purity and cost-effective production of its lactoferrin.

“Precision fermentation can unlock supply constraints and bring high-value health ingredients to the market. We are making lactoferrin more accessible and cost-competitive, addressing complex consumer health needs while helping our customers to grow,” said Batchelor.

“This partnership is about doing the hard work required to make the unique benefits of lactoferrin truly usable at scale. Not just technically, but economically available for all,” said TurtleTree co-founder and CEO Fengru Lin.

Industry giants bank on precision-fermented lactoferrin

Founded in 2019, TurtleTree has attracted around $40M from investors, and was in the middle of a new fundraising round as of last year (reportedly targeting $15M).

As reported by Green Queen, the firm had conducted multiple rounds of layoffs over the six months leading up to January 2025, leaving a skeleton staff of just nine employees at the time.

It was reflective of the ”complex landscape” alternative protein companies have found themselves in after a pandemic-era boom, but TurtleTree seems to have navigated the headwinds, with the Novonesis deal a strong sign of its technology’s potential.

”By pairing TurtleTree’s precision fermentation platform with Novonesis’s manufacturing and commercialisation capabilities, we’re unlocking the consistency, cost structure, and supply reliability that modern health brands need,” said Lin. ”Ultimately, this enables our customers to formulate with confidence and deliver meaningful benefits to the people who rely on these products every day.”

Novonesis’s Batchelor noted: ”LF+ fits well in our broader portfolio of both precision fermentation projects and our specialised nutrition ingredients.”

The partnership comes amid a surge in focus on lactoferrin, both among precision fermentation companies and food and nutrition giants.

Nestlé, for instance, partnered with Helaina to advance research on bioactive proteins and to develop baby formula using the latter’s recombinant human lactoferrin and filed a patent to produce beta-lactoglobulin from precision-fermented donkey milk for infant nutrition.

Elsewhere, Dutch startup Vivici and Australia’s All G are cleared to sell precision-fermented bovine lactoferrin in the US, though neither of them has a ’no questions’ letter from the FDA yet, which could be critical since the self-affirmation pathway is set to be eliminated.

Daisy Lab, Eclipse Ingredients, Eden Brew, De Novo Foodlabs and its co-owned joint venture FerrinX are also working on recombinant versions of the bovine protein. Meanwhile, All G, PFx Biotech, and Guoke Xinglian are producing human lactoferrin.