Nestlé Seeks Growth In Medical Industry

Nestlé S.A. is a Swiss transnational food and Beverage Company. It is headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland and is said to be the largest food company in the world measured by revenues.

It was ranked #72 on the Fortune Global 500 in 2014.

Nestlé’s line of products include baby food, bottled water, breakfast cereals, coffee and tea, confectionery, dairy products, ice cream, frozen food, pet foods, and snacks.

The company is however, seeking to now move into the medicine business by signing a research collaboration agreement with a Swiss biotech company to develop an Alzheimer’s disease diagnostic test.

Nestle’s thrust into the medical market marks the company’s strategic vision in transitioning into a faster growing and more profitable industry.

Swiss biotech firm AC Immune, which already has established ties with Roche in drug research, said on Wednesday it would develop a minimally invasive diagnostic assay for Tau with the Nestle Institute of Health Sciences.

Tau is a protein that causes tangles in the brain that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s.

The Swiss food maker announced that last week it had signed a separate deal to develop a new treatment for ulcerative colitis.

Over the last two years, Nestlé has been investing in the healthcare market with an eye on healthcare products that provides higher margins than the current food and beverage market that it has gained its success in historically.

Nestlé’s medical products currently include injectable skin wrinkle treatments, which represents a small part of its business.

Some analysts, however, believe going forward medicine will grow to represent a large part of the Nestlé’s sale.