Nestle forms JV with Li Ka-Shing’s Chi-Med for developing gastro treatment based on traditional Chinese medicine

Swiss food giant Nestle SA and Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing-controlled pharmaceutical and healthcare firm Hutchison China Meditech (Chi-Med), yesterday agreed to form a joint venture to develop gastro-intestinal treatments based on traditional Chinese medicines.

Nestlé Health Science, a fully-owned subsidiary of Nestlé, and Chi-Med will form a 50 : 50 joint venture to be named Nutrition Science Partners Ltd (NSP) to research, develop, manufacture and market nutritional and medicinal products derived from botanical plants.

Nestle Health Science, which already has a presence in acute disease sectors of ageing medical care, critical care and surgery, and paediatric medical care, said that the JV will give it access to one of the world's leading traditional Chinese medicinal libraries of more than 50,000 extracts from over 1,200 different herbal plants.

These include access to use the botanical research and development in gastrointestinal areas, which includes discovery research, non-clinical and pharmaceutical science functions.

NSP will focus on gastrointestinal health and may in the future expand into the metabolic disease and brain health areas.

''This joint venture provides Nestlé Health Science with an opportunity to develop and commercialise truly innovative and scientifically validated botanical-based nutrition for personalised healthcare in gastrointestinal health,'' said Luis Cantarell, president and CEO of Nestlé Health Science.