GlaxoSmithKline and Verily Life Sciences, an Alphabet subsidiary, are joining forces to invest in bioelectronic medicine, the Associated Press reports.
Together, they are forming a new company, Galvani Bioelectronics, 55 percent of which will be owned by GSK and 45 percent of which will be owned by Verily, which used to be known as Google Life Sciences. GSK and Verily plan to invest up to $714 million over seven years, according to both the AP and the Guardian.
The UK-based Galvani is to focus on developing tiny bioelectronic implants that will alter electronic signals conducted by nerves in the body to treat chronic diseases like arthritis, the Guardian adds. In particular, the companies say that it will first focus on clinical proof-of-principle studies in inflammatory, metabolic, and endocrine disorders where there's already supporting data from animal model studies as well as on devising those miniaturized devices.
"Bioelectronic medicine is a new area of therapeutic exploration, and we know that success will require the confluence of deep disease biology expertise and new highly miniaturized technologies," says Brian Otis, the CTO of Verily, in a statement.