Hofseth BioCare ASA ("HBC") announces the publication of a new peer-reviewed clinical study on its salmon protein hydrolysate ProGo® in the international scientific journal Biomedicines. The randomised, double-blind, active-controlled pilot study reports that 56 days of daily ProGo® supplementation improved multiple biological markers relevant to healthy ageing and metabolic health in overweight adults, while a protein-matched whey comparator did not.
In the study, 14 overweight adults received either 12 g/day of ProGo® or 12 g/day of an iso-nitrogenous whey protein isolate over 56 days. Because both products were matched for protein content and dose, the differences observed between the groups are attributed to the bioactivity of ProGo®'s peptides rather than to protein intake alone. The trial is registered on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT07616752).
Whilst this was a pilot study of 14 people ProGo®'s impact was large enough to reveal consistent, statistically significant signals across a number of independent measures. Importantly, the results were driven by all the participants, not by a few hyper-responders. Further, whilst there were slightly more women in the ProGo® group baseline characteristics were well balanced between the groups and actually the ProGo® group started with a higher ferritin level providing a higher bar for greater increases which ProGo® demonstrated.
Across the pre-specified primary endpoints, and after adjustment for multiple testing, ProGo® produced statistically significant improvements versus whey in haemoglobin (+3.8%), red blood cell count (+7.5%), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (+5.7%) and ferritin (+13.4%), together with a 39.1% improvement in a composite self-assessed hair, nail and skin score. ProGo® contains negligible dietary iron; prior research attributes the iron-related effects to bioactive peptides that upregulate the iron-storage gene FTH1.
Secondary, exploratory analyses, reported without correction for multiple testing and therefore considered hypothesis-generating, favoured ProGo® across body composition, inflammation and glucose metabolism. These included reductions in waist circumference (-7.7%), BMI (-7%) and percent body fat (-10.7%), with preservation of lean body mass (+13.3%), alongside reductions in the inflammatory markers IL-6, IL-8, IL-12B and TNF-a and improvements in HbA1c and fasting blood glucose. The whey comparator had minimal impact on these measures. As a small (n=14) pilot study the findings are preliminary, and the authors note that larger, longer and placebo-controlled studies are warranted.
ProGo® Bioactive Peptides is positioned primarily in the healthy ageing category, having been named winner in the Healthy Aging category at the 2025 NutraIngredients-USA Awards and recognised for its metabolic health credentials. Alongside the Biomedicines publication, HBC is releasing a white paper, "ProGo® - the Science of Healthy Ageing & Metabolic Health", which summarises the clinical findings for a general audience.
"This study is a thought-provoking first step, showing that a single, simple daily supplement can move several of the biological drivers of healthy ageing at once - iron metabolism, inflammation, glucose control and body composition - in a way a protein-matched comparator did not. We look forward to confirming these signals in larger and longer studies" says Dr. Crawford Currie, Head of Medical R&D at Hofseth BioCare ASA.
For further information, please contact:
Dr Crawford Currie, Head of Medical R&D at Hofseth BioCare ASA
Phone: +44 7968 195497
E-mail: cc@hofsethbiocare.no
About Hofseth BioCare ASA:
Hofseth BioCare is a Norwegian consumer and pet health company founded on the core values of sustainability, optimal utilization of natural resources and full traceability. It upcycles the side streams of the salmon industry, taking fresh filleted salmon and converting it from a waste product into ingredients to improve human and pet health. These ingredients are ProGo®, a mix of bioactive peptides and collagen; OmeGo®, a whole salmon oil containing all the fatty acid fractions found in fish; and CalGo®/NT-II® salmon bone powder containing calcium hydroxyapatite and undenatured collagen for bone and joint health. HBC places scientific evidence at the forefront, which has led to important academic partnerships and the identification of unique health benefits.
