BASF Readies Medical Food Product - Drug Discovery and Development

BASF has entered a partnership to develop a “first-of-its-kind” medical food product.

Under the agreement, BASF will lend scientific expertise and manufacturing capabilities, while DIEM Labs will market and sell the product. The medical food will be designed to help patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).

BASF hasn’t disclosed what exactly will be in the medical food, but the product is reportedly being developed in the same division that works on the company’s Omega 3 chemistry.

NAFLD rates are rising in America and are linked to obesity and metabolic syndrome. At the moment there is no food product on the market to help with NAFLD patients’ dietary needs.

“With this step, BASF is entering an attractive new market segment in the space between human nutrition and pharma,” François Scheffler, head of BASF’s Global Human Nutrition and Pharma Solutions Businesses, said.

BASF has already conducted its own trial with 170 patients to test the product’s efficacy and plans to launch the product in the U.S. Unlike pharmaceuticals, medical foods are not required to undergo a premarket review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Several other companies have been developing products for the medical foods space, Codexis and Nestle.