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Biomedical innovation

Our commitment: Build biomedical science leading to health-promoting products, personalised nutrition and digital solutions

 

Our commitment: Build biomedical science leading to health-promoting products, personalised nutrition and digital solutions

 

Nestlé Health Science (NHSc) is engaged in advancing the therapeutic role of nutrition. Our nutrition therapies are founded on strong scientific research and an in-depth understanding of consumers and healthcare providers. These findings will enable earlier interventions, build clinical evidence and create a science-based innovation pipeline to address unmet and under-served needs.

 

Our progress to date

Nestlé offers a range of specialist nutrition products designed to meet the needs of people with specific conditions or nutrition needs related to ageing. To support consumers throughout their lives, we have created new business areas dedicated to innovative therapies. NHSc seeks to develop scientific methods to improve health through nutrition, while Nestlé Skin Health offers science-based solutions for skin, hair and nails.

  • Our science-based nutritional solutions to support healthy ageing include leading brands such as Boost, Meritene, Nutren Senior and Sustagen. We also studied 14 000 people in 10 countries to understand the attitudes, health status and habits of global consumers aged 50 and over.
  • To address food-related digestive discomfort and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), NHSc launched Low FODMAP to provide consumers and healthcare professionals with information on diets that eliminate short-chain carbohydrates, which are not easily absorbed in the small intestine. Our ProNourish nutritional drink also makes it easier for consumers to follow such diets.
  • We are helping US company Accera to fund clinical trials in Axona, a prescribed medical food for patients with mild or moderate Alzheimer’s disease, and initiated clinical trials in Vitaflo, a nutritional drink that may improve seizure control in children.
  • NHSc co-funded the CoMiSS tool to help primary healthcare professionals recognise the symptoms of Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy (CMPA) and intervene earlier. NHSc also began a collaboration with French company DBV Technologies to develop a patch-test tool for diagnosing CMPA in infants.
  • To support critically ill people, and older people suffering from malnutrition or who have difficulty swallowing, NHSc is collaborating with GE Healthcare on integrated management systems that improve nutrition while in intensive care. We have also launched two online resources to help patients transition to tube feeding at home while maintaining a normal life.

The data from sensors and devices in our daily lives, such as mobile phones, wearables and ‘smart’ homes, can help us understand our nutrition and activity, and guide us towards a healthier lifestyle. Our long-term aim is to combine this increasingly connected technology with breakthroughs in nutrition science, to make health preservation more personal and help people understand their own nutritional status, lifestyle, environment and genetics.

The Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences (NIHS) has begun a research collaboration with the Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center (SSIC) to harness the combined power of nutrition science and digital sensor technologies. Together, we will provide individuals and families with personalised recommendations around nutrition, lifestyle and fitness through a single digital health platform. The first pilots are scheduled to begin in early 2017.

Our objectives towards 2020

By 2020: Develop new interventional nutritional solutions driven by studies and diagnostic profiling. These programmes will focus on key areas such as metabolism, gastrointestinal and brain health, healthy ageing, skin health and pets.

By 2020: Develop digital nutrition profiling for calculating nutrient intakes, as well as for making recommendations for nutritional balance, into a comprehensive tool to assist individuals and families to lead happier and healthier lives.

 

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