PBM Products believes its has the formula for market growth

by Heather B. Hayes
for Virginia Business
December 2006

Fussy babies sometimes have a good reason for waking their parents at night: Allergies to milk and other foods give them colic. PBM Products, a baby formula producer based in Gordonsville, says it has taken steps to help everyone get some sleep.

The company recently purchased worldwide rights to Profylac, a hypoallergenic infant formula for children with severe allergies to cow's milk and soy milk. The product, developed in 1990 by Danish companies Arla Foods Ingredients and ALK-Abello, has been available for years in Europe.

PBM Products already makes the formula at its Vermont plant for distribution in Europe. The product, however, won't be available in the U.S. until early 2008 because it has to undergo a clinical study to meet federal Food and Drug Administration require-ments. "We're very comfortable with that process because the product's already been approved in Europe," says Paul Manning, CEO of PBM Products.

Other hypoallergenic formulas are available (many exclusively through pediatricians), but Manning believes that Profylac will be a superior alternative. Profylac is whey-based, which means it can be ingested by soy-allergic children.

PBM Products has another hypoallergenic formula that it launched five months ago as a private-label product. Manning says the two hypoallergenic products give his company breadth in the fast-growing, specialized infant formula market, but he believes having Profylac will move it at the top of the food chain. "We feel very fortunate to have a product of this type in our pipeline."