Nestlé has offloaded Palforzia, its peanut allergy treatment business, to biopharmaceutical company Stallergenes Greer.
The deal, which was widely predicted in July, follows Nestlé’s announcement last year that it would conduct a strategic review of Palforzia.
Financial details pertaining to the deal have not been announced but Nestlé said it will receive “milestone payments and ongoing royalties” from London-based Stallergenes Greer, a company which specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of allergies.
Just Food has asked Nestlé for further details about the structure of the deal.
Greg Behar, CEO of Nestlé Health Science, said: “We are confident that Stallergenes Greer will take Palforzia forward and ensure this unique treatment supports patients around the world.
“At the same time, the divestiture allows Nestlé Health Science to focus on its core strengths and key growth drivers.”
In its annual report for 2022, the company said it was “sharpening the focus [of the unit] on consumer care and medical nutrition”.
Nestlé acquired Aimmune Therapeutics, the California-based manufacturer of Palforzia, in 2020 in a $2.6bn deal. It had first invested in Palforzia four years earlier.
But in November last year, Nestlé said it was looking at its “strategic options” for Palforzia.
News agency Bloomberg reported that earlier this year the company made a $2.1bn impairment charge for the drug.
And in March, reports suggested KitKat chocolate and Maggi sauces owner Nestlé, the world’s largest food manufacturer, had embarked on looking for buyers for Palforzia and had hired investment bankers at Evercore to see what interest there was in the unit.
On the Palforzia strategic review, Nestlé said it followed “slower than expected adoption by patients and healthcare professionals”.
In May, Nestlé said it was to shut two health science plants in the US.
Stallergenes, a self-styled “global leader in allergen immunotherapy” is a privately-held business with a presence in 19 countries and manufacturing facilities in France and the US.
