“Alpine Bio Receives Patent for Recombinant Milk Proteins, Advancing Animal-Free Dairy Production”

SAN FRANCISCO, April 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Alpine Bio, a San Francisco-based biology design company and the force behind Nobell Foods, an animal-free dairy brand, has announced a significant milestone in the molecular farming movement. The company has been issued a new patent, titled “Recombinant Milk Proteins and Food Compositions Comprising the Same,” marking a significant leap in making animal-free dairy more accessible and appealing to consumers.

Alpine Bio’s team of scientists has pioneered an innovative technology that allows for the recombinant expression of casein in plants. Casein is the primary protein in milk that gives cheese its characteristic melt and stretch. Nobell Foods, under the umbrella of Alpine Bio, has been on a mission to unlock a new era of animal-free products that do not compromise on taste, quality, or affordability.

“Today we celebrate the breakthroughs our company has made over the last few years to reimagine the future of food in a way that positively impacts the climate, agriculture and our food system at large,” said Magi Richani, Alpine Bio founder and CEO. “This milestone not only reflects our strides in science-backed technology, but also brings us closer to delivering a sustainable and delicious product to market.”

The newly issued patent, which is Alpine Bio’s tenth, focuses on dairy food compositions containing plant-expressed recombinant casein proteins. This showcases the company’s advancements in replicating the production of traditional animal-based dairy products in a plant system. The patent further strengthens Alpine Bio’s robust IP portfolio and demonstrates the company’s novel approach to revolutionizing the future of food with cheese produced without animals.

“Cheese is one of the most loved foods in the modern diet, and yet it is one of the worst offenders in terms of its climate impact,” said Chris Rivest, Breakthrough Energy Ventures. “Magi and her team have developed a transformative way to produce dairy-identical proteins in plants to create stretchy, gooey, delicious cheese that consumers love, but made from plants—it is simply amazing.”

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued U.S. Patent No. 11,952,606 on April 9, 2024, protecting Alpine Bio’s milk protein production technology. This proprietary technology enables high and consistent production of milk proteins in plants, greatly outperforming first-generation expression of casein and making the resulting animal-free products more cost competitive against traditional dairy products.

Alpine Bio is a San Francisco-based biology design company accelerating the evolution of plants. The company’s proprietary biomanufacturing platform harnesses plant intelligence to create highly efficient protein factories. Its first product is an animal-free Mozzarella cheese from Nobell Foods, planning to launch via tastings in 2025. Started by Magi Richani in 2016, Alpine Bio is transforming plants into the world’s most efficient protein factories.

Nobell Foods is an animal-free dairy brand creating the world’s first cheese from plant-grown casein. Nobell Foods is on a path to unlock a new age of animal-free products where taste, quality, and affordability are widely accessible.

For more information about Alpine Bio and Nobell Foods, please visit www.alpbio.com and www.nobellfoods.com respectively, and follow us on Instagram for updates.