Particles for Humanity (PFH), a Boston-based biotechnology company, has announced a $10 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to expand production and promote the adoption of its climate-stable form of vitamin A (PFH-VAP) to help address vitamin A deficiency and reduce malnutrition.

The multiyear grant will be used to expand PFH’s facilities and bring production of PFH-VAP to commercial scale. Following PFH-VAP’s initial use in fortified bouillon, where it proved stable in hot and humid conditions, industry and government stakeholders have encouraged the extension of PFH-VAP to wheat flour, one of the fastest-growing staple foods in Africa and the largest source of dietary calories in Central Asia. With the new funding, the PFH-VAP program has received support totaling nearly $20 million.

According to PFH, heat and humidity reduce the effectiveness of standard vitamin A fortification by as much as 85 percent. Commercial food products typically need to be refortified to compensate for storage loss, which results in a less effective but more expensive intervention that is particularly burdensome to low-income countries. In Africa, despite government mandates to fortify wheat flour, almost 6 percent of deaths of children under the age of 5 can be attributed to vitamin A deficiency.

“Fortifying widely consumed staple foods and condiments is a proven strategy for reducing malnutrition at scale,” noted PFH in a press release. “Bringing PFH-VAP to commercial readiness is a crucial step in ensuring access to reliable and stable forms of vitamin A for the populations that need it most.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Emily M. Wilson)