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View Full Version : Nestle creates health-science subsidiary



MNeagle
27th September 2010, 09:07 AM
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Swiss food giant Nestle said Monday it will create a new division focused on developing health-nutrition products to prevent and treat conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Nestle /quotes/comstock/11i!nsrgy (NSRGY 53.75, +0.25, +0.47%) /quotes/comstock/06p!nesn (CH:NESN 52.80, +0.10, +0.19%) , which already has a big health-care nutrition unit, said the business will allow it to “develop the innovative area of personalized health science nutrition.”

The business will be dubbed Nestle Heath Science and begin operations Jan. 1 as a subsidiary run at arm’s length from the group’s main food and beverage operations. Nestle’s existing global health-care nutrition business had a turnover of 1.6 billion Swiss francs ($1.6 billion) in 2009.

“The combination of health economics, changing demographics and advances in health science show that our existing health-care systems, which focus on treating sick people, are not sustainable and need redesigning,” said Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe.

“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 added.

Shares of Nestle edged up 0.2% on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

While many foods companies frequently roll out new products claiming to have general health benefits — such as lowering cholesterol — few have directly targeted specific medical conditions, said Euromonitor International analyst Ildiko Szalai.

New products, if they’re intended for the general consumer market, will likely have to meet tougher rules on the health claims they make and require substantially higher investment, Szalai said.

Nestle said Luis Cantarell will be chief executive of the new business and will report to group Chief Executive Paul Buckle.

In addition, the company said it is creating the Nestle Institute of Health Sciences, which will be part of its global research-and-development network. The unit will be run by Emmanuel Baetge, former chief scientific officer of biotechnology company ViaCyte.

Nestle also said Chris Johnson, currently in charge of operations in Japan, will take over from Cantarell as head of the Americas business.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nestle-creates-health-science-business-2010-09-27?siteid=rss&rss=1