IM HEALTHSCIENCE acquired by NESTLE

Nestlé Health Science, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nestlé, agreed on 18 August 2020 to acquire the business of IM HealthScience, the Boca Raton pharmaceutical company, together with its sister company Physician’s Seal, and completed the transaction on 1 September. The perimeter covered four brands: IBgard and FDgard, medical foods for the dietary management of irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia, Fiber Choice, a line of prebiotic fibres that IM HealthScience had itself acquired in 2017, and REMfresh, a continuous release-and-absorption melatonin supplement for sleep. All four were sold online and through retailers in the United States and Canada. The company had been founded in 2013 by a team of pharmaceutical research and management executives, chaired by Fred Hassan, and built its products around its own patented targeted-delivery technology, which releases the active ingredient at a specific point in the digestive tract. Daniel Hassan, its chief commercial officer and later chief executive of Physician’s Seal, said the brands’ reach would grow significantly under Nestlé. Greg Behar, chief executive of Nestlé Health Science, described the products as proven solutions for digestive problems and sleep, and said the company’s research work fitted the group’s nutrition mission. The purchase extended Nestlé Health Science’s medical food range in the United States and followed other consumer health acquisitions made that year, in what the group had announced would be a more active period for deals despite the pandemic.

By taking control of Im Healthscience, Nestle continues its expansion strategy. Previously, the group had completed 2 acquisitions, including Yfood Labs in 2026.