Nestle is known to operate worldwide and it's now using the company's assets to help people who are and might be suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
According to reuters.com, Nestle has collaborated with a Swiss biotech company to develop a diagnostic test for Alzheimer's disease.
Nestle is also known as the largest packaged food company and turning their heads in a "profitable" medical market can uplift their decreasing profit due to slow sales of packaged food in the market.
Nestle's biotech company partner is AC Immune which is already known for having partnership with Roche in drug research. Nestle also said that the test being developed is a "minimally invasive diagnostic assay of Tau." Tau is a kind of protein that causes tangles in the brain and it is believed to be one of the main reasons of the disease. Nestle Institute of Health Sciences will oversee the over- all supervision in developing the tests.
In a report by bloomberg.com, Nestle has been doing efforts to provide good health through good nutrition with their products. AC Immune also said that "There are 9.9 million new cases of Alzheimer's each year, and the cost of dementia has increased to $818 billion from $604 billion in 2010."
Ed Baetge, head of the Nestle Institute of Health Sciences, said "Early diagnosis is critical. Our overarching goal is to develop nutritional approaches and technologies that help people maintain or reestablish their cognitive vigor."
For the past two years, Nestle has been developing its healthcare products which generally have higher margin than their other products like coffee, sweets and soups.
Liberum analyst Robert Waldschmidt said "Clearly, Nestle's got the size, clout and expertise to push in a particular direction. They have a real commitment to their health sciences business now."
The company's health products now bring a small part in the sales of the company but it is expected that sooner or later, Nestle's medical products will make up 10% or more of the total sales of the company.
