Nutrition 2026: The a2 Milk Company has announced results from a randomised, double-blind, controlled study evaluating an infant milk formula made with cow's milk free of A1-type beta-casein protein (A1PF formula) compared with a conventional cow's milk-based infant formula. The findings were presented as a late-breaking oral presentation at NUTRITION 2026, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the a2 Milk Company in a statement said the Growth Monitoring Study, which it funded, was conducted in accordance with United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements for new infant formula registration. The results showed that the A1PF formula supported normal growth and safety throughout the 16-week study period in healthy term infants.
Beta-casein is one of the main proteins found in cow's milk and occurs naturally as A1- and A2-type variants. Most conventional cow's milk contains a combination of both protein types, while the A1PF formula is made using milk containing only A2-type beta-casein. According to the study, infants fed the A1PF formula recorded a mean daily weight gain of 31.94 grammes between baseline and week 16, compared with 30.15 grammes among infants fed the conventional formula. The difference of 1.79 grammes per day exceeded the study's predefined non-inferiority threshold of minus three grammes per day.
Growth was assessed using World Health Organization (WHO) growth standards, and infants receiving the A1PF formula remained within WHO-defined healthy growth ranges throughout the study. No significant differences in adverse events were observed between the two groups. Additional post hoc analyses found that infants fed the A1PF formula achieved greater average weight gain, greater length gain, and higher weight-for-age and length-for-age z-scores over the 16-week period.
The company added that further exploratory analyses suggested that infants receiving the A1PF formula may have demonstrated greater efficiency in converting dietary protein into growth, although additional research is needed to confirm the clinical significance of these findings.