week-it-had

Food group Nestle has taken a further step into the medicine business by signing a research collaboration agreement with a Swiss biotech company to develop an Alzheimer’s disease diagnostic test. Nestle’s second medical deal in a week underscores the commitment by the world’s largest packaged food company to the faster-growing, more profitable medical field as sales of processed foods slow in many markets. Tau is a protein that causes tangles in the brain that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. The Swiss food maker said last week it had signed a separate deal to develop a new treatment for ulcerative colitis.