Just one month after announcing the opening of Nestlé Health Science, a subsidiary of Nestlé S.A., created to develop science-based nutritional solutions to deliver “personalized health care” for medical conditions, the Vevey, Switzerland-based company acquired CM&D Pharma Ltc., a small company located in Lutry, Switzerland, which focuses on the research and development, and marketing and sales of foods for special medical purposes.

Though the terms of the transaction were not disclosed, CM&D was part of the company portfolio of Inventages Group, an independent venture capital fund that Nestlé invests in. Nestle was no doubt motivated by CM&D’s specialty product development capabilities, which focus on products tailored for patients with kidney disease, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colon cancer.

The company’s leading product, Fostrap, is a “medical food” in the form of a pleasant-tasting chewing gum for kidney patients who have an elevated level of phosphate in the blood, a condition known as 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. Fostrap treats hyperphosphatemia by binding to phosphorus in the saliva, thus reducing the total phosphate load in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Fostrap chewing gum does not release either the chitosan, or the chitosan-phosphorus complex, into the GI tract and thus does not interfere with the absorption of any other medications.

Using this type of product to manage hyperphosphataemia is indeed novel and is being developed as a complementary approach to current medical therapy. Clinical trials are still ongoing, but according to Nestle, preliminary data has been promising.

In addition to Fostrap, CM&D produces two additional condition-specific products—Recoclix and Eviendep.

Recoclix targets patients who suffer from undefined intestinal pain, which is often associated with pathology such as Crohn’s Disease, ulcerative colitis or non-specific inflammatory bowel disease. More than four million patients are known to suffer worldwide.

Defined as a unique colon protector, Eviendep is intended to slow down the progression of polyps to colon cancer, and to prevent their reoccurrence following removal. According to CM&D, early data published in the journal Carcinogenesis showed a protective effect of Eviendep and suggested its use as a “potential approach against colorectal cancer development.”

CM&D also stated, via press release, that Recoclix is currently included in a long-term multi-center study, and Eviendep is currently completing a pivotal Colon Adenopolyposis-related clinical trial. Both trials were termed to be “key areas of development.” Data from theses ongoing clinical trials is expected to be reported sometime in 2011.

“This acquisition is an excellent fit with Nestlé Health Sciences strategic goal of being a pioneer in the promising area of science-based nutrition,” said Luis Cantarell, president and CEO of Nestlé Health Science. “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.”

CM&D Pharma Ltd. was founded in 2007 by its founder and president Danilo Casadei Massari and progressed in collaboration with CEO Stephen Appelbee. Mr. Massari was pleased with the Nestlé acquisition. “The board of CM&D Pharma is confident that now, with a trade shareholder with unparalleled expertise and understanding of the science and the regulatory environment behind dietary management of health conditions, its product portfolio will be fully exploited,” he said. “We are also pleased to have maintained our promise to our original shareholders, and rewarded them for their faith in us.”