The world’s biggest food company, Nestlé, has today officially launched its Institute of Health Sciences, with the ultimate goal of proving cutting edge research and development activities to support healthy ageing.
Based at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, the research centrewillprovide a scientific rationale for targeted nutritional medical products to help manage health problems including diabetes, obesity, and Alzheimer’s disease, said Nestlé.
Nestlé CEO, Paul Bulcke said the new facility will provide the company with a new arm of research capabilities.
“One of our biggest opportunities for growth is to focus research on science-based nutritional solutions to help prevent or manage chronic diseases,” said Bulcke. “The work of the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences will strengthen our position as the world’s leading nutrition, health and wellness company.”
Complex problems
Nestlé said targeting chronic non-communicable diseases, such as obesity and diabetes requires new technologies to aid highly complex research and solutions.
“They are the result of a multifaceted relationship between genes, diet and lifestyle - and the nature of this relationship is different for each one of us,” it said in a press statement.
Emmanuel Baetge, head of the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences (NHIS) said: “Targeted nutrition requires, a strong underpinning of scientific proof as well as state of the art diagnostics.”
He added that the NIHS has established expertise and research approaches including integrated systems biology, next-generation sequencing and human genetics, as well as –omics technologies such as metabonomics and lipidomics.
Research focus
The launch of the NIHS is the latest in a line of research focused moves from Nestlé, including the initial establishment of Nestlé Health Science, the centralisation of clinical research efforts at its new Clinical Development Unit earlier this year, and the extension of research efforts at its Product Technology Centre in Konolfingen, Switzerland – which focuses on the development of infant formula, dairy products and medical nutrition.
In November, Nestlé will also open a new Research & Development Centre in Manesar, India.