HELPING PRETERM BABIES THRIVE

Who We Are

PremieHealth was formed by a group of scientists who collectively have more than 90 years of research activity in milk and mammary gland biology, and a unique vision to protect and enhance the welfare of premature infants. We have embarked with the knowledge that current, narrow strategies, both scientifically and commercially, are not capable of delivering optimal solutions to this great challenge.

Our Challenge

Premature birth is a global problem and presents a major challenge to contemporary healthcare, in terms of human suffering and economic consequences

Currently 10% of infants in the affluent world are born premature, and this problem is significantly worse in countries with less developed medical infrastructure. Premature birth is the leading cause of under-5 child mortality and an important cause of serious morbidity often associated with long, expensive hospital admissions. The treatment of chronic health and disability extends throughout the entire lifetime of many premature  babies.

Ironically, breast milk that successfully feeds term infants for the first months of life and sets them on a lifelong trajectory is not ideal for premature infants. Lactation did not evolve for the very different state of development of a premature human infant.

The primary focus of PremieHealth is to deliver the next generation of nutrition for growth and development of all preterm babies, particularly babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Our Philosophy

Our approach is based on three principles: optimizing the diet, guiding development and maximizing the protection of premature infants.

We are bringing together the branches of science to deliver a paradigm shift in the design and delivery of the next generation of nutritional supplements derived solely from human milk.

Our Vision
The vision for PremieHealth is to exploit our increasing understanding of the evolution of lactation to provide new insights into the role of milk bioactivity. This information will be translated into the next generation of nutritional supplements to elevate the health of premature babies so they grow and develop normally for the rest of their lives.
Our Mission

PremieHealth will represent innovation in milk biology.

 

The company will have a formalized program of research and collaboration with the explicit goal to craft new intellectual property, creative a large repository of information as a resource base and launch disruptive technologies-based research into the mission of protecting and nourishing premature infants.

Research Team

Our Team

A/Prof. Julie Sharp

Co-founder, Director & CEO

Prof. Kevin Nicholas

Co-Founder, Director & CSO

A/Prof. Christophe Lefevre

Co-Founder & Director

Dr. Ashalyn Watt

Co-Founder & Director