SAN FRANCISCO– Pendulum Therapeutics, the biotech company pioneering the next frontier of metabolic health through its microbiome-targeted products, announced today a strategic partnership with New Zealand dairy nutrition company Fonterra. Fonterra will invest $10 million into the growth-stage company to co-develop and commercialize next-generation microbiome products.
The digestive health products market is exploding, sized at $51 billion globally (Source: Grandview). The strategic partnership leverages Fonterra’s innovation, manufacturing expertise, and long-standing leadership in global markets, alongside Pendulum’s deep science-backed innovation, microbiome expertise and category leadership in the U.S. probiotic market. The investment accelerates Pendulum’s ability to bring forward solutions that help people address gut microbiome deficiencies, which affect 40% of people globally (Gastroenterology).
“This investment from Fonterra, a $14 billion global company, signals that gut health is increasingly being recognized as an important factor in whole-body health and wellness,” said Colleen Cutclfife, Ph.D., CEO and Co-founder of Pendulum Therapeutics. “Pendulum’s scientists are conducting cutting-edge microbiome research and developing products that have a meaningful and measurable impact on metabolic health for millions of people. This strategic partnership with Fonterra enables us to tap into their deep-rooted manufacturing expertise and established global presence to bring a new wave of microbiome products to market.”
The $10 million investment from Fonterra will come from their newly formed nutrition science venture arm, provisionally named Nutrition Science Solutions (NSS). NSS will incubate, invest in and scale ventures in the nutrition science field, and operate as a standalone business within Fonterra with its own board and CEO. The investment will also designate Fonterra as a minority shareholder in the San Francisco-based biotech company.
As part of the strategic partnership, NSS and Pendulum will work together to co-develop and commercialize next-generation products that are scientifically formulated to make a measurable impact on people’s gut microbiome health, helping consumers overcome certain health conditions like immunity, mental health, cognitive health, and aging.
“Nutrition science is a segment of the global health and wellness category that goes beyond everyday lifestyle and wellness products, and we’re excited to tap into it more deeply through our partnership with Pendulum,” said Miles Hurrell, CEO of Fonterra.
“Our shared objective to bring proven, high impact health products to the world led us to partner with and invest in Pendulum. We’re confident that together we can deliver health solutions that make measurable improvements to people’s health around the world.”
