Joanna Cosgrove10.18.10
In an effort to “pioneer a new industry between food and pharma,” Vevey, Switzerland-headquartered Nestlé recently announced that it had created two new entities—Nestlé Health Science S.A. and the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences—which will enable the company to focus on developing its personalized health science nutrition business to prevent and treat health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
Nestlé Health Science S.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nestlé S.A., will be run “at arm’s length” from Nestlé’s main food, beverages and nutrition activities, and incorporate the existing global Nestlé HealthCare Nutrition business. It will have access to external scientific and technological know-how through Nestlé’s innovation network, as well as a number of venture capital funds in which the group has interests. Luis Cantarell, the company’s designated president and CEO, will report to Paul Bulcke in his capacity as administrateur délégué of the Board of Directors of Nestlé Health Science S.A. The company is scheduled to become operational on January 1, 2011.
“Personalized health science nutrition will create shared value, both for Nestlé and for society, by successfully preventing, improving and treating acute and chronic medical conditions,” commented Mr. Cantarell.
Still in the development phase is The Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, which will be part of Nestlé’s global R&D network. Nestlé said it plans to invest hundreds of millions of Swiss francs over the next decade to build a “world-class Institute of Health Sciences,” tasked with conducting research in “relevant areas of biomedical science.” The Institute will then translate the knowledge into “nutritional strategies to improve health and longevity.” The Institute will be based in the multi-disciplinary scientific environment of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, where Nestlé is already involved in two life science initiatives. It will be run by Emmanuel E. Baetge, former chief scientific officer of ViaCyte, a biotech company based in San Diego, who will report to Nestlé Chief Technology Officer Werner Bauer and a Steering Committee composed of both Nestlé and external members.
“The Institute will create and deliver world class excellence in biomedical research to better understand human diseases and aging as influenced by genetics, metabolism and environment,” promised Mr. Baetge. “Translating this knowledge will allow us to advance the concept of daily personalized health science nutrition as the most important first step in disease prevention and treatment.”
In addition, Hilary Green, PhD, head of R&D communications for Nestlé SA, told Nutraceuticals World that The Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences will identify and discover bioactive ingredients that modify molecular, cellular and physiological disease mechanisms, with a particular focus on obesity, diabetes, neurological disorders and aging “in order translate disease-focused biomedical research into personalized health science nutrition.”
Dr. Green declined to comment on which ingredients or delivery mechanisms would represent specific areas of focus.
“The overall goal of the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences is to ensure the scientific base for personalized health science nutrition by developing a molecular understanding of disease processes with which to inform and design nutrition plans and products for individual prevention and maintenance of a healthier life,” she continued. “The new company’s base is our current HealthCare Nutrition Business which specializes in clinical nutrition, and sells products into hospitals, long term care institutions, home care services and pharmacies.”
Nestlé Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe said that the company’s new health sciences subsidiaries put Nestlé in a unique position to help shape the space between the food and pharma industry. “The combination of health economics, changing demographics and advances in health science show that our existing healthcare systems, which focus on treating sick people, are not sustainable and need redesigning. Nestlé has the expertise, the science, the resources and the organization to play a major role in seeking alternative solutions. Personalized health science nutrition is about finding efficient and cost effective ways to prevent and treat acute and chronic diseases in the 21st century,” he said.
These latest developments are part of a continued commitment to nutrition and health by Nestlé, which, in the last three years, has made a number of strategic acquisitions in this area such as Novartis Medical Nutrition and Vitaflo.
