According to a research conducted in 2020, 9.9% of the babies born that year were preterm. Premature babies need much more sensitive care than full-term babies, they often face significant health challenges due to their underdeveloped immune systems and gastrointestinal systems. Human breast milk is widely recognised as the optimal source of nutrition for new-borns and provides numerous benefits for their growth and development. However, in cases where a mother’s breast milk is insufficient or unavailable, providing human milk-based nutritional products becomes crucial. NeoLacta Lifesciences founder Sunil Sreekakula elaborates on the necessity to make these products accessible to neonates, a passion that drove him to establish the start-up.
Knowing NeoLacta
“NeoLacta Lifesciences specialises in the development and manufacture of human milk-based nutritional products for premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We believe nutrition is the key to good health and thus our purpose, as evident in our tagline is to keep nurturing young lives through optimal nutrition,” he gives a brief introduction to the venture. The vision behind NeoLacta Lifesciences is to bridge the existing gap in access to human milk and provide neonatologists and NICU healthcare professionals with evidence-based innovative solutions that support the nutritional needs of premature infants.
Sunil says, their efforts “typically revolve around improving the health outcomes and long-term development of premature babies by ensuring they receive the nutritional benefits of human breast milk without exposure to non-human milk sources. The inspiration for starting NeoLacta stemmed from a desire to make a positive impact on the lives of premature infants and their families.” He aims to address the unmet needs of this vulnerable population, leveraging scientific research and technological advancements to produce human milk-based nutritional products that closely resemble the composition of natural breast milk. “By focusing on the unique nutritional requirements of premature infants, we strive to contribute to better health outcomes, reduce the risk of complications, and promote optimal growth and development during the critical early stages of life,” he talks about their goals.
New Player in a New Sector
Most startups face a unique set of challenges in the initial years, and the strategies for overcoming them can vary depending on the specific circumstances. Adaptability and perseverance played a huge role in keeping the start-up going. Sunil had the willingness to learn from setbacks to navigate the challenges to secure the optimal product-market fit. He talks about them in detail, “some of the key challenges faced include:
Proof of concept: Being a first-mover, initial apprehensions on the product quality, screening and clinical efficacy were encountered. This was overcome by sustained in-clinic awareness campaigns, participation in medical conferences, data accretion exercises such as pilot studies and specific case studies all of which was underpinned by a robust distribution network offering exceptional customer service.
Team building: Hiring and retaining the right talent is a challenge, especially for startups with limited resources. Overcoming this challenge involved onboarding a pilot team aligned to the concept and the positive impact of such products on the society and health of the nation, creating a positive and rewarding work culture among many others. Based on the pilot response, we could then expand market access across India in a phased manner.
Market competition: Innovators often breach categories with established competitors. Although we developed the human milk segment from scratch, within the overall category of infant nutrition, many established competitors with cow’s milk products have been around for decades. To solve this, we conducted a thorough market research, identified a unique value proposition, differentiated our human milk-based products, and developed effective marketing and sales strategies to acquire, retain and build a loyal customer base of NICU healthcare professionals.
Product development: We started with a single brand in 2016 and over the last 7 years have introduced five new brands. Prioritizing features based on customer needs, adopting an iterative and agile development approach, and seeking feedback from early adopters to refine the product has helped us achieve an enviable portfolio covering the entire NICU journey.
Scalability: Scaling the business while maintaining product quality with a balanced value proposition is tough. Realistic growth planning, implementing scalable processes and systems, and optimizing operations to handle increased demand have been vital to our products having benefitted 80,000+ babies across 450+ specialty mother & child hospitals.
Regulatory and legal hurdles: For a novel product therapy, compliance challenges and legal complexities are anticipated. Overcoming this involved understanding the applicable regulations, seeking legal advice, and ensuring compliance from the early stages of the business. We continue engaging with policy makers and healthcare professionals to ensure access to specialised human milk derivatives are secured for the vulnerable infants in need.
The goal is to have sustainable and impactful brands with a unique brand experience nurturing young lives.”
Novel Approach and Appreciation
The product portfolio at NeoLacta Lifesciences includes targeted human milk derivatives in both frozen & shelf stable formats. Sunil describes their range, “through our range of segment-first products such as India’s only standardised & pasteurised donor milk (NeoLacta PHBM70), World’s only powdered human milk-based fortifier (NeoLact MMF & NeoLact MMF PLUS), and Lyophilised human milk powder for reconstitution (NeoLact 70) we aim to help fill the current gaps in access to an Exclusive Human milk Diet (EHMD).” Such a diet has been clinically validated to significantly improve the life of premature babies, who otherwise would be prone to many complications.
Unlike conventional milk banks, NeoLacta does not supply bare donor milk alone, rather the products are supplied as value-added formulations made from Mother’s milk. NeoLacta products have been granted IP rights by Ministry of Commerce & Industry under the food and biotechnology segments for their proprietary processing technologies involved. “We operate a pharmaceutical-grade ISO 22000:2018 and GMP certified facility in Bengaluru dedicated to human milk derivatives. NeoLacta is a proud recipient of the Gold award for excellence in Women & child care at the 8th India Health Awards 2023,” shares Sunil.
Creating a Future
The founder shares his thoughts on the future of such human-milk based products. “Millions of years of evolution has made milk species-specific and we do not see that changing anytime soon. As awareness grows about the benefits of human milk for premature infants, there will be an increased demand for human milk products in India. Parents, healthcare providers, and policymakers are recognising the importance of providing optimal nutrition to premature babies. Scientific advancements and ongoing research in the field of human milk processing and preservation techniques may lead to the development of improved human milk-based products. These innovations can help address challenges related to milk sourcing, storage, and safety, making such products more accessible and reliable.”
Continuing, he says, “establishing robust regulations and quality standards for human milk products is essential to ensure safety and efficacy. As the demand for these products increases, regulatory bodies may focus on developing guidelines and standards specific to human milk processing, storage, and distribution in India.” However, there are ethical concerns regarding the sourcing of human milk, many raise questions about it. Striking a balance between the ethical considerations and the need to provide nutrition to premature infants will be important for the future of human milk products in India. In addition to that, cultural attitudes and social acceptance of human milk products may influence their adoption and usage.
NeoLacta Lifesciences marks India’s entry into the elite club of nations such as US, UK, EU, Japan etc. to have market access to such products as they supply. Concluding the discussion, Sunil talks about their future endeavours as a business, “while we continue to keep the focus on improving market coverage, team building, and adding new therapy segments, we will simultaneously continue investing into NPD to help bring innovative formats and scalable solutions to address nutritional needs within the mother and child segment.”
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