Mead Johnson launches lactose-free formula
submitted its intent to launch its latest product, Enfamil
LactoFree Lipil infant formula, to the US Food and Drug
Administration. The company is aiming to introduce the new formula
across the US later this year.
Bristol-Myers Squibb company Mead Johnson Nutritionals has submitted its intent to launch its latest product, Enfamil LactoFree Lipil infant formula, to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The company is aiming to introduce the new formula across the US later this year.
Designed for infants with fussiness, gas, or diarrhoea due to lactose sensitivity, the Enfamil LactoFree LIPIL will contain Mead Johnson's DHA and ARA blend. DHA and ARA fatty acids are important in the development of a baby's brain and eyes and are found naturally in breast milk.
The LactoFree LIPIL is the latest addition to the Enfamil LIPIL family of formulas. Mead Johnson claims Enfamil LIPIL with Iron is the only term infant formula to contain DHA and ARA at the levels clinically shown to benefit mental and visual development.
Jon Vanderhoof, MD, vice president of Global Medical Affairs for Mead Johnson Nutritionals, said: "Introducing a lactose-free formula with DHA and ARA further supports our commitment to the science behind LIPIL."
Another Enfamil product, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron infant formula, has been shown in some studies to support infant brain and eye development when compared to the same formula without DHA and ARA.
In a study led by Eileen Birch, of the Retina Foundation of the Southwest and funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, results found that infants fed Enfamil LIPIL from birth to four months scored an average of seven points higher (on a 100-point scale) on a test of mental development at 18-months compared to infants fed the same formula without DHA and ARA.
The study also showed improved visual acuity equal to about one line on a standard eye chart in the one-year-old infants who had been fed Enfamil LIPIL for four months.
Another study, also led by Birch, showed similar advantages in visual development in infants who were breast fed for about six weeks and then weaned to Enfamil LIPIL. When tested at one year of age, the infants fed Enfamil LIPIL showed improved visual acuity equal to about one line on a standard eye chart, when compared to infants fed the same infant formula without DHA and ARA.
