Nestle launches China’s first FSMP for patients suffering from tumour-related conditions

26-Jul-2022 - Last updated on 26-Jul-2022 at 06:29 GMT

Nestle has launched Oral Impact Su Yi Su, a Food for Special Medical Purpose, in China. ©Nestle

Nestle has launched China’s first Foods for Special Medical Purpose (FSMP) for patients suffering from tumour related conditions, after going through a five-year long approval process from the Chinese regulator.

The product, known as Oral Impact Su Yi Su, is also the only FSMP specially approved for nutritional supplementation in this group of patients currently.

Containing arginine, fish oil omega-3, nucleotide on top of other basic nutritional ingredients, the product was formulated to address the problem of inflammation and compromised immunity in patients.

FSMPs are meant for providing nutritional support to individuals suffering from a specific disease, disorder, or a medical condition as part of their dietary management.

Citing a clinical study conducted by China Anti-cancer Association and involving over 30k patients, Nestle pointed out that 57 per cent of the patients hospitalised due to malignant tumours had suffered from severe malnutrition, which could in turn negatively affect the prognosis and increase the risk of medical complications.

“As the first FSMP approved for use in patients suffering from tumour-related conditions, the launch of Su Yi Su has opened a new chapter for oncology nutrition in China, and will produce important effects for their treatment, bringing hope to patients who have been suffering from long-term malnutrition,” said Cecily Gu, Nestle Health Science Greater China vice president – business executive officer.

Gu had said earlier that the company hoped to increase its FSMP and skincare offerings following the an investment of US$151.3m in two new factories in China.

So far, the firm has launched several novel FSMPs, such as Nutren Novasource GI – China’s ready-to-drink protein-based FSMP for undernourished individuals, as well as infant nutrition formulas for babies suffering from cow’s milk allergies.

Based on a report by China’s health foods consultancy CIRS, there are a total of 83 approved FSMPs in China. Of which, 54 are made locally while 29 are imported products.

The majority of the products – 64 of them are in powder form, while 19 of them are in liquid form.

Nestle led the chart with 11 approved FSMPs, followed by Abbott Laboratories with eight products, the other three which made it into the top five were local China companies, namely Synutra, Suzhou Hengrui, and Jilin Maifu Nutrition.