CM&D Acquisition - Nestlé Health Science to develop dietary solution for kidney patients
Lutry, 2 February 2011 – Nestlé Health Science today announced that it has completed the acquisition of CM&D Pharma Ltd (CM&D), a company that specialises in the development of products tailored for patients with kidney disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and colon cancer. The company’s financials and the terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. CM&D is part of the company portfolio of Inventages Group (http://www.inventages.com/), an independent venture capital fund that Nestlé invests in.
CM&D is a small company that focuses on the research and development, and marketing and sales of foods for special medical purposes. The company’s leading product, FostrapTM, is a medical food in the form of a chewing gum for kidney patients who have an elevated level of phosphate in the blood (hyperphosphataemia). While hyperphosphatemia is rare in the general population, it commonly affects patients with kidney failure or renal insufficiency. Hyperphosphataemia contributes to vascular calcification, leading to an increased risk of cardiac mortality, as well as mineral and bone disorders. FostrapTM works by binding phosphate in the saliva, thereby helping to lower phosphate levels in the blood. This is a novel method for managing hyperphosphataemia, which is being developed as a complementary approach to current medical therapy. Clinical trials are still on-going, but preliminary data published to date are promising.
http://www.asn-online.org/press/pdf/2009-media/Calo_Hyperphosphatemia_Study.pdf
The acquisition of CM&D comes just a month after Nestlé Health Science became operational. Nestlé Health Science is a fully-owned subsidiary of Nestlé S.A. that will develop science-based nutritional solutions to deliver personalised health care for medical conditions.
“This acquisition is an excellent fit with Nestlé Health Sciences strategic goal of being a pioneer in the promising area of science-based nutrition. We share CM&D’s commitment to use health science for improving the quality of people’s lives, and this acquisition will help to reinforce our position in this opportunity. Additionally, CM&D will benefit from Nestlé Health Science’s commitment to biomedical research, and the resources of the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences,” said Luis Cantarell, President and CEO of Nestlé Health Science.
For more information about CM&D Pharma Ltd, please visit www.cmdpharmaltd.com.
