VEVEY, SWITZERLAND – Nestle S.A. has acquired Pamlab L.L.C., Covington, La., a manufacturer of medical nutrition foods for a variety of medical conditions, including diabetes, depression, high-risk pregnancy and cognitive impairment. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

“The acquisition of the Pamlab business is aligned with our strategic ambition to provide science-based nutritional solutions for people with chronic medical conditions,” said Luis Cantarell, president and chief executive officer of Nestle Health Science, a business unit of Nestle. “Pamlab will particularly strengthen our brain health platform and provide us an additional foothold in metabolic health in the U.S.

“By leveraging our nutrition heritage and U.S. operations with Pamlab’s proven expertise in medical foods and strong sales force capabilities, together we can play a key role in helping to manage certain chronic diseases and improve the quality of patients’ lives.”

Pamlab’s platform of prescription medical food products includes Metanx, a product that is formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of patients with diabetes to help restore the metabolic processes associated with peripheral neuropathy.

Pamlab also makes Deplin, a medical food formulated to provide necessary nutritional support for certain people on prescribed antidepressant therapy for clinical depression. Deplin contains l-methylfolate, the active ingredient of folate, to help balance three neurotransmitters associated with mood: serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.

In addition, the company produces CerefolinNAC, a medical food to help address metabolic nutritional needs associated with mild cognitive impairment.

This is the fourth acquisition made by Nestle that is focused on the medical nutrition market. Other acquisitions and partnerships include Prometheus Laboratories, a U.S. company specializing in diagnostics and licensed specialty pharmaceuticals in gastrointestinal and oncology; Vitaflo, a provider of clinical nutritional solutions for infants, children and adults with genetic disorders that affect how food is processed by the body; and a minority investment in the U.S. company Accera, which specializes in medical foods intended for the clinical dietary management of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.