#180: Dan DeMarino & Anthony Clark - Helaina's Precision Fermentation Revolution with effera™

Sep 8, 2025

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On Episode #180 of the PricePlow Podcast, Mike and Ben venture into the heart of Manhattan to visit Helaina, where they sit down with Dan DeMarino, Business Development Director, and Anthony Clark, Chief Technology Officer, for an in-depth exploration of precision fermentation technology and efferaâ„¢ human-equivalent lactoferrin.

This conversation provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the science and engineering that makes efferaâ„¢ possible, from Anthony’s revolutionary 5-week development cycles that compress what traditionally took 15 weeks, to the sophisticated machine learning models analyzing 170 million data points. We explore how Helaina has transformed precision fermentation from a months-long process into a predictable engineering paradigm, enabling rapid innovation in bioactive protein development.

The Future is Now: How Precision Fermentation will Change the World

Alongside Anthony’s technological prowess, Dan brings his extensive supplement industry experience across several categories to discuss the commercial applications of human lactoferrin. The conversation reveals clinical data showing that efferaâ„¢ is recognized by the body as “self” with no antibody development, while bovine lactoferrin triggers immune responses.

The biggest question is how to best get the word out there for this phenomenal ingredient. From iron regulation mechanisms to women’s health applications, gut health formulations, and the future of human bioactive proteins, this episode showcases why efferaâ„¢ represents a paradigm shift in nutritional science.

https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/helaina-effera-precision-fermentation-180

Video: Helaina’s Manhattan Lab with Dan DeMarino & Anthony Clark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mh0im0b_eo

Detailed Show Notes: Precision Fermentation Meets Supplement Innovation

(0:00) – Introductions: Meeting the Science and Business Leaders
(6:00) – Anthony’s Revolutionary R&D Approach: From 15 Weeks to 5 Weeks
(9:00) – Learning from Experience: Patchouli to Protein in Record Time
(10:30) – Data-Driven Innovation: 170 Million Data Points and Machine Learning
(11:15) – The efferaâ„¢ Breakthrough: Human Lactoferrin Through Precision Fermentation
(15:00) – Iron Regulation and Lactoferrin as a Signaling Molecule: Air Traffic Controller Analogy
(22:00) – Marketing Challenge: Making Iron and Anti-Inflammation Sexy
(23:00) – Strategic Positioning: Women’s Health and the “Pink Gold” Opportunity
(25:30) – The Creatine Parallel: Building Efferaâ„¢ into a Multi-Benefit Category
(29:00) – The Prenatal Crisis: 80% of Pregnant Women Are Iron Deficient
(36:00) – Product Showcase: Kepos and the Human Colostrum Concept
(41:30) – Formulating the Perfect Gut Health Supplement
(47:00) – Clinical Research Pipeline: Three Studies Define the Future
(49:00) – Clinical Validation: No Immune Response to Human Protein

There’s so much more to come, and we couldn’t be more excited about the future after visiting Helaina’s R&D lab.

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