Novartis food deal with Quaker

Novartis Consumer Health and Quaker Oats formed a 50-50 joint venture, Altus Food, to develop and market functional foods in North America. Altus (Chicago, Ill.) will focus on developing products that address healthcare concerns of women, children, mature adults and athletes.

The venture expects to launch its first products by early 2001. It is likely, however, that the first wave of products will not be produced through agricultural biotech. "We are a consumer health company, which means that we are very much consumer-driven," said Novartis Consumer Health spokesperson Yvan Deurbroeck. "We are aware that consumers are concerned about GM ingredients. Our policy is to listen to what consumers want and we intend to respond accordingly." ...