LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. February 25, 2016, 9 AM PST – The abstract of a long awaited, independent hospital study has reported that preterm infants fed Co-op donor milk experienced growth rates consistent with catch-up growth during critical stages of the hospital stay. 

This is the first clinical study reporting outcomes for preterm infants fed Co-op donor milk, the first commercially sterile, homogenized donor milk that can be stored at room temperature for up to three years.  The findings are significant since an abundance of published data has reported consistently poor weight gain when preterm infants were fed donor milk from other sources.  This study provides evidence that Medolac’s Co-op donor milk is a suitable option where mothers own milk is not available or in short supply.   Mothers of hospitalized babies often experience low milk supply, especially during prolonged hospitalization.  Many hospital neonatal units experience difficulty sourcing donor milk resulting in rationing that limits usage to only the smallest and most fragile infants. 

“We are pleased that clinical studies are now confirming what our hospital accounts have already discovered, that Medolac’s Co-op Donor Milk is exceptionally well tolerated and supports robust growth.  Simply put, it’s a game changer in neonatal nutrition.  With the rapid increase in demand for donor milk, many milk banks lack the ability to scale, something we built into our model from the start,”  said Elena Medo, Medolac's Chairman and CEO.  

Summary findings were presented to participants at the NEO Conference, in Orlando Florida today and earlier this month at the Southern Regional Meeting of the American Federation for Medical Research.  Because Medolac Laboratories is a Public Benefit Corporation with a social impact agenda, Co-Op donor milk is affordable and widely available through standard hospital supply channels.

About Medolac Laboratories, a public benefit corporation:
Medolac is committed to ending the global shortage of human donor milk and has introduced the first commercially sterile human donor milk which is currently being used by hospitals across the United States. The company specializes in innovative, human donor milk products for clinical use, applying advanced processing methods that preserve amino acids as well as many of the immune components in human milk. As a public benefit corporation dedicated to social impact, our mission is to make human milk the standard of care for premature and sick infants by increasing the supply and access to donor milk. Medolac Laboratories is a Delaware registered public benefit corporation headquartered at Lake Oswego, Oregon. 

Medolac® Terminates Distributor Agreement to Focus on Growing Demand for its Donor Milk
LAKE OSWEGO, Ore., Aug. 11, 2015 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Medolac® Laboratories, anOregon-based human milk nutritionals public benefit corporation, announced today that the company has terminated its distribution agreement with Ni-Q, LLC aka American Medical Concepts, Inc. based in Wilsonville, Ore. and associated sub-distributors, effective immediately. Despite benefiting from exclusivity across the country, distributor activity never developed into a significant share of Medolac's hospital sales.  

"As a public benefit corporation seeking to end the shortage of human milk in neonatal intensive care units, it became evident that our company's public benefit mission was not aligned with distributor activity," said Ms. Elena Medo, CEO of Medolac. "The decision to take immediate action reflects our commitment to put patients first, particularly where the lives of neonates hang in the balance." More...

Medolac® Launches Donormilk.com, the First Ever Direct-to-Consumer Offering of Donor Milk
Medolac® Offers Commercially Sterile, Shelf-Life-Stable Human Donor Milk as Easy-to-Use as Formula

May 04, 2022  LAKE OSWEGO, Ore . --(BUSINESS WIRE)--Medolac® Laboratories, an Oregon-based human milk nutritionals start-up, today announced the launch of Donormilk.com, the first direct-to-consumer offering of human milk. Medolac’s Co-op Donor Milk human milk is commercially sterile, safe, tested, homogenized, and can be stored at room temperature making it easier for home use. In addition, Medolac human donor milk is less expensive and safer than donor milk bought from online classifieds and other milk banks where testing, safety and nutritional content cannot always be verified. This new product will make it possible for more babies to receive 100% human milk protein instead of bovine or soy protein formula.

“The simple fact is that babies are healthier when they are fed human milk”

Medolac is committed to the fundamental principle that all babies should have access to breast milk and that direct breastfeeding by mothers is best for infants wherever and whenever possible. “The simple fact is that babies are healthier when they are fed human milk,” said Elena Medo, chairman and CEO of Medolac Laboratories. “Our vision at Medolac was to create a way to make human donor milk that is as easy to use as formula available for use with infants who otherwise would likely not have access to the benefits of human milk. These include babies of surrogates and non-traditional families, mothers experiencing a temporary supply shortage as well as post-discharge infants who fail to thrive on formula. With the introduction of donormilk.com, parents of healthy babies, preterm babies and medically fragile babies have access to a safe human donor milk alternative for their infants.” More...

Medolac® Laboratories Harassed by Frivolous Lawsuit from Prolacta® Bioscience

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. May 07, 2015 --(BUSINESS WIRE)--Elena Medo, Founder of Medolac® Laboratories, an Oregon-based human milk nutritionals startup, is the target of a lawsuit filed earlier this year by Prolacta® Bioscience .

“We believe this lawsuit is frivolous and totally without merit and implore the legal system to help us get on with the crucial work of saving lives.”

Medo founded Prolacta in 1999 and as its first CEO, raised $23 million in venture capital before leaving the company in early 2009. Later she started a public benefit corporation with the goal of ending the shortage of human donor milk by utilizing high volume professional food processing methods resulting in a more affordable donor milk product. After five years of research and development, Medo’s efforts have resulted in Co-Op Donor Milk, the first commercially sterile human breast milk that can be stored unopened at room temperature for up to 3 years. Since introducing Co-op Donor Milk last fall, hospitals across the country have adopted its use, citing the reduction of risk among many other benefits. “I’m disappointed and saddened that Prolacta’s Board of Directors would support this frivolous lawsuit,” Elena Medo commented. Medo’s attorney added, “This kind of lawsuit is a technique some companies use to limit their competition. The legal system becomes a tool to bury a competitor in paperwork and legal fees to keep them focused on defending themselves and away from growing their company. In this case, Prolacta has chosen to pick on a registered public benefit corporation that is supplying life-saving human donor milk to preterm infants, many who have not had access to donor milk until now. Prolacta cannot support the entire need for human milk but seeks to monopolize this small industry through unmeritorious litigation.” More...

Medolac CEO Stresses Need For Greater Scrutiny of Human Donor Milk Used with Preterm Infants
Quality and Safety Indicators Are Published in Medical Journal Article to Provide New Tool For Hospitals

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore., Feb. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- An article by Elena Medo, the Chairman and CEO of Medolac Laboratories, a public benefit corporation (www.medolac.com) was recently published by the medical journal Neonatal Intensive Care ( Vol 28, No. 1 - Winter 2015) shedding light on the severely limited availability of human donor milk for preterm infants.  When considering the lack of consistent product quality and safety standards for human donor milk, this may  lead to unacceptable risks for immune compromised preterm infants that should be preventable. The article focuses attention on the rationing that is depriving preterm infants of human donor milk based solely on their gestational age and weight and  arms hospital staff and risk managers with specific and essential questions to ask donor milk vendors in order to help ensure that human milk provided to preterm and immune compromised infants is safe.  These safety qualifiers include raising awareness of the possibility of pathogens remaining in processed donor milk after Holder pasteurization, spores from b. cereus and confirmation of nutritional content.  

"Recent studies show that while donor milk can be lifesaving it must be collected, tested, processed and handled properly to ensure that fragile infants have access to the benefits of human milk without the risks associated with inadequate scrutiny", said Elena Medo.   "The safety and quality identifiers in this journal article are a first step in arming hospitals with information that can help them make important decisions on donor milk that has the potential to save the lives of patients."

The Neonatal Intensive Care journal article can be accessed here

About Medolac Laboratories, a public benefit corporation:
Medolac is committed to ending the global shortage of human donor milk and introduced the first commercially sterile human donor milk which is currently being used by hospitals across the United States. The company specializes in innovative, human donor milk products for clinical use, applying proprietary biopharmaceutical processing methods that preserve many of the immune components in human milk. As a public benefit company dedicated to social impact, our mission is to make human milk the standard of care for premature infants by increasing the supply and access to donor milk. Medolac Laboratories is a Delaware registered public benefit corporation headquartered at Lake Oswego, Oregon in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. For more information, visit www.medolac.com.