Nestlé Launches SHIELD Against Impacts of Age and Urbanization

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An aging population and rapid urbanization are driving growth for health care in China, including skin health.

According to figures cited by Nestlé Skin Health, "the elderly population in China will reach 248,000,000 by 2020, which accounts for 17% of the country’s total population."

This population will require solutions for maintaining and restoring skin health, as well as treating skin conditions and diseases In fact, the company notes,"each year, there are more and more cases of skin cancer, pruritus and other skin diseases in the elderly population"

In response,  has launched its Skin Health Investigation, Education and Longevity Development (SHIELD) center in Shanghai. (The first SHIELD center will open in New York City in the fourth quarter of 2015.)

“With 1 billion of us [people] over the age of 60 by 2020, the Global Coalition on Aging sees Nestle Skin Health’s SHIELD initiative as an important and leading innovator to enable healthier and more active aging for individuals of all ages and society at large," said Michael W. Hodin, CEO of the Global Coalition on Aging.

The site, which will open in early 2016, will "create an environment where medicines and technologies can be combined with bioinformatics [tools and software for better understanding the human body] to develop preventative, diagnostic and treatment strategies to advance next generation of skin health regimens," according to Humberto Antunes, CEO of Nestlé Skin Health S.A. and chairman of Galderma Pharma S.A.

“This center will not only provide new resources, allow local skin health professionals to communicate with experts from other fields and share experiences with each other, but will also raise awareness of the importance of skin health among the public," said  “We are delighted to see the SHIELD Center being launched in Shanghai,” said Professor Zheng Jie, chair of China Society of Dermatology.

 

Antunes added, “We are very enthusiastic about opening our first Asia-based SHIELD center in Shanghai," said  "It will be a hub for developing solutions to meet China’s growing skin health needs and will serve as a platform for collaboration and innovation.

 

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