Nestle Health Science invests in Pronutria Biosciences’ protein research

Nestle Health Science has made an investment of $42.5 million (30.23 million pounds) in the protein technology company Pronutria Biosciences.

Pronutria is developing a pipeline of oral therapeutic and nutritional biologics called Pronutrein proteins, which target imbalances in amino acid profiles to address a range of health conditions, including neurological, muscle and liver disorders.

The money from Nestle will be used to support the clinical development of first-in-class lead product candidates such as PN-107, which is designed for muscle wasting indications, as well as the advancement of its broader therapeutic pipeline.

Founded in 2011, Massachusetts-based Pronutria was selected as the hottest healthcare start-up by Forbes last year.

Greg Behar, Nestle Health Science's chief executive officer, said: "We see strong potential in the technology platform and this unique partnership, given our healthcare expertise, existing portfolio and global coverage."

It is believed that this field of medicine has the potential to address unmet medical needs for sufferers of more than 2,000 diseases where amino acids play a central role.