Kate Farms Launches Core Essentials Peptide Tube Feeding Formula for CF, Other Conditions

Kate Farms, which specializes in plant-based, ready-to-use oral and tube feeding formulas, has rolled out its Core Essentials Peptide 1.5 product. The high-caloric, peptide-based formula contains no dairy, soy, gluten, or other common allergens.

With its approval by the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS), it is now possible for patients across the U.S. to have the Core Essentials Peptide 1.5 formula covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance programs.

According to Kate Farms, about 437,000 people in the U.S. are getting their nutrition primarily through a tube on a long-term basis. Conditions that may lead to weight loss and the inability to assimilate nutrition orally include cystic fibrosis (CF), cerebral palsy, ALS, multiple sclerosis, and many types of cancer.

The Feeding Tube Awareness Foundation, a nonprofit charity dedicated to supporting parents of children who are being tube-fed and promoting tube feeding as a lifesaving medical intervention, has identified more than 300 conditions that can require children to need nutritional support through tube feeding.

Before Kate Farms launched its Core Essentials Peptide 1.5 nationally, it supplied physicians and registered dietitians with samples of the new product for their patients to try. As a result, many patients have transitioned to the Peptide formula as a better nutritional alternative to what they had been using, according to Kate Farms. The company will also provide free samples to individuals with a prescribed need for liquid nutrition at the request of a licensed health care professional. Sample program terms and conditions can be found here.

“I have had the opportunity to provide Kate Farms Core Essentials Peptide to my patients, and they are showing great improvement in their health, their weight gain, and how much they enjoy it,” Dr. Annette Whitney, a pediatric gastroenterologist with Digestive Health Associates of Texas, said in a Kate Farms press release. “I am thrilled that the product is now covered by insurance, making it accessible to so many more patients,” said Whitney, whose practice is affiliated with Medical City Children’s Hospital and Children’s Health.

Kate Farms Core Essentials Peptide 1.5 is designed to promote healing of the gastrointestinal tract. It  contains a variety of natural and easily digestible ingredients to supply caloric density.

Each 325 mL carton serving of Core Essentials Peptide 1.5 provides:
• 500 calories, or 1.5 cal / mL;
• 24 grams of organic hydrolyzed pea protein and essential amino acids;
• MCT oil from coconut, and omega 3 and omega 6 from organic flax seed oil.

Like other Kate Farms Core Essentials formulas, the Peptide formula is:
• Free of the top allergens (no milk, wheat, soybeans, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish) and corn;
• Made with organic ingredients;
• Non-GMO Project Verified;
• Includes a blend of 29 “superfoods” that provide antioxidants;
• Certified gluten-free by The National Celiac Association;
• Certified OU Kosher;
• Covered by insurance.

The formula also contains the probiotic agave inulin, has no high-fructose corn syrup, and flows smoothly through the tube.

Full nutritional and ingredients details can be downloaded here.

“For enteral patients, it makes a world of difference when I’m able to offer formulas that provide healthy sources of nutrition that are easily digestible – but that can often be hard to find,” said Zachari Breeding, clinical nutrition manager at Kate Farms. “As a dietitian, I’m excited to now be able to order nutritional formulas that are covered by insurance.”

Brett Matthews, chairman and CEO of Kate Farms

The story behind Kate Farms is about Richard and Michelle Laver’s daughter Kate, who was born with cerebral palsy and weighed only 16 pounds when she was 4 years old. Doctors said she was failing to thrive.

“Kate has had four Kate Farms shakes a day for years and she is now thriving and able to go to school to live her best life,” Brett Matthews, chairman and CEO of Kate Farms, said in the release. “We are inspired by Kate and also the stories we hear each day from tube-feeders, caregivers, medical professionals and all who are using Kate Farms as a cornerstone to their overall health and well-being.

“We believe in the power of nutrition to heal and are excited to offer Kate Farms Core Essentials as a choice for tube feeders across the nation,” Matthews said.

For more information, visit https://katefarms.com.