“The kind of capitalism we are seeing today under this expansion of property into living resources is a whole, new, different phase of capitalism. It is totally inconsistent with democracy as well as with sustainability. What we have is capital working on a global scale, totally uprooted, with accountability nowhere, with responsibility nowhere, and with rights everywhere. This new capital, with absolute freedom and no accountability, is structurally anti-life, anti-freedom.” Vandana Shiva
Vandana Shiva, well-known environmentalist from India, describes how ownership of property now not only includes land, but also living resources. Living resources may include human, animal, plant, bacteria, fungi, and yeast cells and tissues. These living cells and tissues are part of the genetic engineer’s tool kit for creating novel foods and other marketable products. My focus will be on foods, particularly infant formula, and its relationship to human milk research. The genetic engineers call their creations inventions, and legally state their ownership through patents. Patents establish a monopoly on an invention for a set period of time (in the US it is usually 20 years).
Biotech start-up companies developing these novel foods made from splicing and dicing DNA from one species into another species need funding, particularly when creating a new infant formula component. Funding comes from venture capitalists, and in some cases hedge funds. Many of these biotech companies are connected to universities and/or reside next to them. Founders and employees are often professors from these universities. Many of these biotech companies have a short life-span with no product actually on the market; and some eventually get bought out by multi-national corporations who have the money to buy them out.
EVOLVE BIOSYSTEMS
For example in 2019 UC Davis News announced that that the University of California Regents and Evolve Biosytems were jointly filing a patent infringement complaint against Abbott Labs. According to the article, the founders of Evolve Biosystems and the University of California had invested millions on a probiotic organism called Bifidobacteria infantis (EVC001) and commercialized it in 2017. They believe that Abbott’s Similac Probiotic Tri-Blend was a patent infringement on their product. https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/evolve-biosystems-uc-regents-jointly-file-patent-infringement-complaint-against-abbott
Evolve BioSystems, a spin-off company from the Foods for Health Institute at the University of California at Davis, was founded by the following PhDs: David Mills, Bruce German, Samara Freeman, Carlito Lebrilla, and Daniela Barile. The Evolve website states, “The founding scientists continue to advise the company, sharing their wealth of experience from more than a decade of research into the infant gut microbiome and its critical interaction with human breast milk.”
The Director of UC Davis Foods for Health Institute is Bruce German, who is also on the scientific advisory board of a new infant formula company called ByHeart. ByHeart states on their website, “Breastfeeding doesn’t work for all parents, or not all the time. Thankfully, advances in breastmilk research are allowing us to raise the bar on baby’s first foods…” https://byheart.com/home/
UC Davis Foods for Health Institute partners with a variety of companies and institutions: Nestle, Prolacta Bioscience, Abbott, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Teagasic (Irish Agriculture & Food Development Authority), International Milk Genomics Consortium, USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and others. https://ffhi.ucdavis.edu/about/partners
It is not surprising that human milk research in universities has become the inspiration for creating new biotech companies, patents, and collaborations with the infant formula industry. In a Facebook discussion, one young human milk researcher stated to me that that was the purpose of science, to create companies, create patents, obtain profits. Maybe the desire for science as a money-making endeavor is about paying off those huge college loans to prestigious universities; or maybe it’s just the strong-held belief that capitalism is the answer to the organization of civilization? Did the young researcher think I was this quaint, out-of-touch, oldster that believed in the ridiculous notion that science should be a search for truth or a curiosity about life on earth?
David Kyle, PhD, is currently the Chairman of the Board of Evolve Biosystems. Previously he was the co-founder of Martek Bioscience, the maker of DHA and ARA oils that were specifically manufactured for infant formula and supplements. https://www.evolvebiosystems.com/leadership/
Martek Bioscience needs to be briefly discussed because there appears to me to be many similarities between how Martek marketed its new ingredient to the public and Evolve Biosystems marketing of its new probiotic ingredient.
MARTEK BIOSCIENCE
Martek Bioscience was a spin-off company from Martin Marietta that had developed an algae to be used in the US space program. Research showed that breastmilk had the polyunsaturated fatty acids, DHA and ARA, but infant formula did not have those omega 3 & 6 fatty acids. Studies showed that most US breastfeeding mothers seemed to be deficient in DHA/ARA because of their modern diets. Overwhelming evidence pointed to including DHA and ARA in baby formulas as well as supplementation of these oils for breastfeeding mothers. Much of the evidence appeared to be from Martek and/or scientists funded by infant formula industries that would benefit from the addition of these oils. DHA/ARA supplements were created for breastfeeding mothers and most US infant formulas eventually included Martek oils. According to the Martek patents, these oils were created through wild (naturally occurring algae and fungi) and/or recombinant processes (genetic engineering). Martek Bioscience was sold in December of 2010 to DSM (Dutch State Mines) for $1.1 billion. https://www.bevnet.com/news/2011/dsm-completes-acquisition-of-martek-adding-new-nutrition-growth-platform/
Interestingly Dutch State Mines is a partner to UC Davis Foods for Health Institute. As the saying goes, “It’s a small world!”
DUTCH STATE MINES (DSM) BUYS MARTEK BIOSCIENCE
DSM had collaborations with Martek Bioscience for a number of years before the sale, providing the “key base material” for their ARA oil. It bought Roche Vitamins in 2003, and has a global partnership with the UN World Food Program. https://www.dsm.com/corporate/about/our-purpose/heritage.html
Dutch State Mines was originally a petro-chemical company. DSM sold the petro-chemical company in 2002 and “became a manufacturer of life science product materials, and industrial chemicals that are used in the pharmaceutical, food & feed, automotive, and electronics industry.” https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/dsm-nv
It seems that Evolve BioSystems is following a similar marketing path as Martek Biosciences did years ago. According to an article describing Evolve-funded research; the research showed that antibiotic use in pregnancy, for example Group B strep creates antibiotic resistance in newborns. Supplementing breastfeeding newborns with Evolve’s bifidobacteria infantis for 3 weeks lowered antibiotic resistance in those babies by 90%. Martek used similar marketing of their research to the public. Modern diets caused DHA/ARA deficiencies in breast milk, impacting the health of breastfed infants. Supplementing breastfeeding mothers with their product fixed the deficiency. Evolve’s marketing is about modern day breastfeeding mothers over-usage of antibiotics causing a problem of antibiotic resistance in newborns. Their product solves the problem of antibiotic resistance. One might argue that in both situations there are simpler fixes in which products to counter modern day problems like poor diets and over-use of antibiotics, could be helping pregnant moms have better diets and curtailing the over-use of antibiotics. But by using the breastfeeding or human milk feeding mothers as examples for the necessity of their products, the rationale for its inclusion in infant formula becomes a foregone conclusion.
RECKITT BENCKISER GROUP BUYS MEAD JOHNSON AND COLLABORATES WITH EVOLVE
Evolve Biosystems is collaborating with RB (Reckitt Benckiser Group), which now owns Mead Johnson. In 2019 the VP and General Manager of RB, Pat Sly stated, “Joining forces with Evolve Biosystems allows RB’s infant formula business (Mead Johnson Nutrition) to strengthen its expertise in the science of the infant gut microbiome and offers hospitals the only infant probiotic clinically shown to reduce potential gut pathogens in infants consuming breast milk.” https://www.rb.com/us/newsroom/latest-news/news/2019/december/rb-and-evolve-biosystems-team-up-to-advance-infant-gut-health/
In 2020 Reckitt Benckiser Group became a international emergency partner with the British Red Cross and has joined their Disaster Relief Alliance. RB will provide, “proactive product donations for emergency preparedness.” RB states their commitment to “making vulnerable communities strong and resilient.” I always thought that breastfeeding created strong and resilient communities; and that infant formula was a real risk in times of emergency (due to a lack of clean water, electricity, and expense and difficulty of obtaining infant formula). https://www.rb.com/newsroom/latest-news/news/2021/february/rb-partners-with-british-red-cross-and-joins-disaster-relief-alliance/
The Fortune business website states that the global infant formula industry is valued at US $50.46 billion in 2019 and expected to reach $109 billion by 2027. https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/infant-formula-market-101498/
So profits will double by 2027 or at least that is what is expected by the industry. Is human milk research responsible for the growth and marketing of the infant formula industry?
Human milk researchers do not claim that what they have genetically engineered is equivalent to human milk components. But their research is used by the infant formula industry to advertise a newer, better, safer infant formula. The AAP (American Academy of Pediatricians) appears to believe this messaging by its discussion of probiotics in infant formula by their website, healthychildren.org in which they discuss probiotics in baby formulas; while advertising the infant formula company Perrigo, manufacturer of store brand infant formula, on the very same page. And if you click on sponsors, you see the companies Perrigo and Nestle Waters among 2 other companies. https://healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/formula-feeding/Pages/Probiotics-in-Infant-Formula.aspx
Initial research on Bifidobacteria was funded by federal (US government) and private grants. Patent #8361756 entitled, “Bifidobacteria gene sequences and their use,” filed in 2007, owned by the Regents of the University of California (with inventors: David Mills, Carlito Lebrilla, Bruce German, and David Sela) under description of the patent says, “Statements as to rights to inventions made under Federally sponsored research and development not applicable.” Not applicable? I have never seen this before on a patent, usually the statements are about the rights of US government to the patent because it was funded by tax-paid government funding. I would like to know how this got negotiated between the University of California and the Federal government. Must be nice to create companies at universities using federal funding and not let the government have any financial interest in the patenting and licensing of the invention. Hell it’s not government money, it’s just US taxpayers’ money. And too bad the “invention” will be used by the infant formula industry to compete against breastfeeding and sell more infant formula.
In 2001 I wrote a position paper for AnotherLook in which I quoted the US NICHD (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, “Although it is commonly stated that human milk is the optimal food for newborn humans, it might be possible to develop artificial formulae which enhance infant development and health even more than does human milk…” http://www.anotherlook.org/papers/c/english.pdf
Rereading that position paper, I believe that what I wrote 20 years ago was and still is relevant today. People still refuse to educate themselves on genetic engineering and have no understanding that most foods in USA are gmo products. They refuse to see the connections between human milk research and the infant formula industry. And they believe that patents on human milk components are great and promote breastfeeding. When making money is the prime motivator in our society, it is near impossible to question the power and influence of infant formula.
Copyright 2021 Valerie W. McClain
Thank you so much for educating us over so many years about the commercial exploitation of the components in mothers' milk. I value your sleuthing so much, what you find out, your links and sources. We need to know about this, shocking though it is.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Delete