BOSTON – A biotech startup focused on research with milk peptides, Lactocore Group announced it is partnering with French dairy company Ingredia Dairy Experts.

Per Lactocore, the collaboration will involve creating “a new functional food product for humans, pets and farm animals.” The plan is to develop a product that improves moods with the use of dairy proteins.

Ingredia specializes in developing and manufacturing innovative food and bioactive ingredients. Through the new partnership, scientists from both companies plan to examine possible dietary supplements using Lactocore's milk peptide hydrolysate.

Lactocore shared the collaboration is expected to last several months, once they begin work in January. The biotech startup said cow milk “will be hydrolyzed using Lactocore's technology enhanced with Ingredia's know-how.”

Anton Malyshev, PhD, chief executive officer and co-founder of Lactocore, said peptides have “vast and diverse physiological effects” in humans and animals.

“At Lactocore, our primary research thrust is medications,” Malyshev said. “Our pipeline of milk-derived peptide drug candidates demonstrate efficacy and safety against a range of metabolic and mental ailments. This long-term partnership with Ingredia, an industry leader in the European segment of functional ingredients, marks a significant expansion in our research domain. We're thrilled that besides our drug-centric approach, we can now venture into other collaborative product developments.”