A World-First in Neonatal Care: Japan Approves Prolacta Bioscience’s 100% Human Milk-Based Fortifiers as a Prescription Drug for Vulnerable Infants

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) Approves PreemieFort® Enteral Solution as Prescription Medicine in the NICU 

DUARTE, Calif., Feb. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Prolacta Bioscience® today announced that Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has approved PreemieFort® Enteral Solution, a 100% human milk-based fortifier, as a prescription drug for very low birth weight infants, infants with congenital gastrointestinal disorders or congenital heart diseases, and those recovering from gastrointestinal surgery. This regulatory milestone was achieved in partnership with the Clinigen Group, which serves as Marketing Authorization Holder and distributor in Japan. PreemieFort is currently marketed under the brand names “Prolact+” in the U.S. and Canada.

The landmark regulatory decision validates the critical role of Prolacta’s 100% human milk-based fortifiers for the most fragile infants and sets a powerful precedent for neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) worldwide.

“Japan’s approval of PreemieFort as a prescription drug reflects the strength of the clinical evidence and the pharmaceutical grade processing that stands up to the rigor of Japan’s stringent regulatory and quality requirements,” said Scott Elster, CEO of Prolacta Bioscience. ”The pivotal Japanese clinical study adds to the extensive evidence supporting the benefits of Prolacta’s exclusive human milk-based diet for critically ill and fragile premature infants.”

Clinical evidence generated in Japan from the JASMINE trial (“A Randomized, Controlled Study to Assess Growth and Safety of the Exclusive Human Milk Diet (EHMD) in Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) Infants”) informed Japan’s world-class Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency’s (PMDA) review. The Japanese-led phase III, randomized, controlled, open-label, multicenter trial evaluated growth and safety associated with Prolacta’s 100% human milk-based fortifiers, demonstrating significantly better growth in VLBW infants with no change in morbidity or mortality. 

Japan is recognized as a global leader in neonatal care, with among the highest preterm survival rates and lowest rates of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC),^1,2 a life-threatening intestinal disease primarily affecting premature infants. By granting pharmaceutical approval to PreemieFort, Japan is affirming that Prolacta’s human milk-based fortifiers, free from cow milk, are not simply a nutritional choice but an Rx medicine in the NICU.

Japan’s approval includes three Prolacta products — PreemieFort Enteral Solution 6, PreemieFort Enteral Solution 8 (Prolact+6 and Prolact+8 human milk-based fortifiers in the U.S. and Canada), and PreemieFort Enteral Solution CF (Prolact CR human milk caloric fortifier in the U.S. and Canada) — which provide concentrated nutrition to support growth by delivering essential calories and nutrients, while retaining the highest level of human milk bioactivity.

The approval demonstrates clinical confidence in the benefits and safety of PreemieFort human milk-based fortifiers across a wider range of vulnerable infants with complex nutritional needs.

“In the NICU, what we feed our smallest patients can influence their entire life,” said Kate Tauber, MD, MA, professor of pediatrics and director of the Human Milk Program at Bernard and Millie Duker Children’s Hospital. “Human milk-based fortifiers should be held to the same expectations as other therapies, consistent, tightly controlled, and safe. Prolacta’s commitment to pharmaceutical-quality manufacturing requirements helps protect vulnerable infants and supports better outcomes.” 

Prolacta maintains the industry’s strictest quality and safety standards for screening, testing, and processing donor milk — standards that extend through pharmaceutical grade product manufacturing. Together, these controls earned Japan’s prescription drug approval, one of the world’s highest regulatory benchmarks.

About Prolacta Bioscience
Prolacta Bioscience® is the global leader in human milk-based nutrition, dedicated to improving health outcomes for critically ill and premature infants. The company’s 100% human milk-based fortifiers and formulas have been used in more than 125,000 vulnerable premature infants worldwide.³ In a global first, Japan granted Prolacta’s PreemieFort® fortifiers prescription drug status in late 2025 for very low birth weight infants, infants with congenital gastrointestinal disorders or congenital heart diseases, and those recovering from gastrointestinal surgery. Prolacta operates pharmaceutical-grade human milk processing facilities and maintains the industry’s strictest quality and safety standards, with more than 20 tests to screen donor milk and the use of vat pasteurization to inactivate pathogens and ensure safety. Its vat pasteurization also preserves the bioactive components of human milk that support immune protection, gut development, and growth — benefits that are especially important for premature and medically fragile infants.^4-6 Vat pasteurization keeps human milk closer to its natural state than other processing methods, while still ensuring safety. Prolacta has built a secure, independent donor milk supply chain supported by long-term partnerships with thousands of rigorously screened donors, ensuring ample supply to meet NICU demand. Prolacta’s products have been evaluated in over 30 peer-reviewed clinical studies, demonstrating the short- and long-term health benefits of its patented human milk-based fortifiers and formulas. Learn more online or at X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn. 

Media Contact:
Loren Kosmont 
Lkosmont@prolacta.com
310-721-9444 

References

1. Kusuda S, Bennett MV, Gould JB, et al. Comparative analysis of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants born in Japan and born to mothers of Japanese ethnicity in California. Sci Rep. 2025;15:9943. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-92393-y
2. Isayama T. The clinical management and outcomes of extremely preterm infants in Japan: past, present, and future. Transl Pediatr. 2019;8(3):199-211. doi:10.21037/tp.2019.07.10 
3. Data on file; estimated number of premature infants fed Prolacta’s products from January 2007 to May 2025. 
4. Ozturk G, Paviani B, Rai R, et al. Investigating milk fat globule structure, size, and functionality after thermal processing and homogenization of human milk. Foods. 2024;13(8):1242. doi:10.3390/foods13081242 
5. Liang N, Koh J, Kim BJ, et al. Structural and functional changes of bioactive proteins in donor human milk treated by vat-pasteurization, retort sterilization, ultra-high-temperature sterilization, freeze-thawing and homogenization. Front Nutr. Published online September 15, 2022. doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.926814 
6. Meredith-Dennis L, Xu G, Goonatilleke E, Lebrilla CB, Underwood MA, Smilowitz JT. Composition and variation of macronutrients, immune proteins, and human milk oligosaccharides in human milk from nonprofit and commercial milk banks. J Hum Lact. 2018;34(1):120-129. doi:10.1177/0890334417710635

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SOURCE Prolacta Bioscience