GlaxoSmithKline has teamed up with Google to develop bioelectronics

Verily LifeSciences, part of GSK, the UK's biggest drugmaker, will form a joint venture with Google's parent company, Alphabet, called Galvani Bioelectronics, to conduct research and development on bioelectronics.
is understood to have held a 55 per cent stake in the joint venture after the company was founded, with Alphabet's Verily Life Sciences holding the remaining 45 per cent. Over the next seven years, the two sides will invest up to 540 million pounds, depending on the completion of the target.
Google has been developing the pharmaceutical industry in recent years, and as early as 2015 Alphabet's life sciences division had teamed up with French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi to improve clinical care for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Before that (2014), Google's Project X smart contact lenses had officially teamed up with healthcare giant Novvartis.
now, Verily LifeSciences, part of Alphabet, Google's parent company, is working with GlaxoSmithKline to develop bioelectronics, a testament to Google's ambitions in the pharmaceutical industry.
is looking for new sources of revenue growth as the best-selling asthma drug Advair is under threat from generic drugs in the U.S. Bioelectronics is an emerging field designed to treat chronic diseases with a tiny implantable device that can modify electrical signals through the human nerve. GlaxoSmithKline researchers believe arthritis, diabetes, asthma and other diseases can all be treated with this device.
fact, since 2012, GlaxoSmithKline has been working on micro-devices that can alter electrical signals carried by nerves, which can be altered in certain diseases. Diseases such as arthritis, diabetes and asthma are the uk company's most interesting targets in new technology.
LifeSciences, part of Google's parent company Alphabet, which wants to use the technology to develop software and hardware for healthcare, is one of Alphabet's most important start-ups and is part of the tech giant's "other bet" business. In addition to Verily, Alphabet's "other bets" include Nest, a smart home maker, and Fiber, a high-speed Internet provider. In the second quarter of 2016, the "Other Bets" business contributed $185 million to Alphabet's revenue. Ruth Porat, Alphabet CFO, said the main revenues from the "other bets" business came from Nest, Fiber and Verly.
headquarters of the Galvani Bioelectronics joint venture will establish GlaxoSmithKline's central research and development division in Stevenage, north London, AND a second research centre in the Verily office building, south of San Francisco.
the joint venture, the first team of 30 scientists, engineers and doctors will be formed and led by Kris Famm, head of bioelectronics research at GlaxoSmithKline. (Science and Technology World Network)