Glaxo, Alphabet Plan $700 Million Bioelectric Treatment Venture -- Update
August 01 2016 - 4:54AM
Dow Jones News
By Denise Roland
LONDON-- GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Google-parent Alphabet Inc.
have teamed up to develop what they call bioelectronic medicines,
or treatments that use miniature electronic devices to modify how
electrical impulses are transmitted around the nervous system.
The U.K pharmaceutical company said it had signed an agreement
with Verily Life Sciences LLC, formerly Google Life Sciences, to
create Galvani Bioelectronics. It said the pair would spend up to
GBP540 million ($700 million) over seven years on the venture,
provided they succeeded in hitting various milestones along the
way. Glaxo will control 55% of the new company with Verily holding
the rest.
Many biological processes are controlled by electrical signals
transmitted from the nervous system to the body's organs. Glaxo
said early-stage research in its laboratories suggested that
distortions of those signaling pathways were involved in several
long-term diseases including diabetes, asthma and arthritis.
Galvani Bioelectronics would bring together Glaxo's knowledge of
drug discovery and development with Verily's expertise in
miniaturizing low-power electronics, data analytics and building
software for clinical applications, Glaxo said.
Initial work would focus on developing miniature electronic
devices to test out that concept in humans for the first time,
Glaxo said.
The treatment would likely work by attaching miniature
electronic devices to individual nerves, according to Moncef
Slaoui, Glaxo's head of vaccines who is also chairman of Galvani
Bioelectronics.
"If successful, this approach offers the potential for a new
therapeutic modality alongside traditional medicines and vaccines,"
Mr. Slaoui said.
Several pharmaceutical companies have teamed up with Google's
parent to develop new digital approaches to medicine. Novartis AG
is working with the tech giant to develop a "smart contact lens"
for diabetes patients that can monitor blood glucose levels in
tears. Sanofi SA is also working with Google on new ways to monitor
and treat diabetes.
Kris Famm, who heads up Bioelectronics research at Glaxo, will
be president of the new company. Andrew Conrad, Chief Executive of
Verily, will sit on Galvani's board.
Galvani Bioelectronics will be based at Glaxo's research center
in Stevenage in the U.K., with a second research hub at Verily's
facilities in San Francisco, California, Glaxo said.
The U.K. government said that decision demonstrated the "global
appeal" of Britain's scientific expertise. It is the second time
Glaxo has announced a large investment in the U.K since Britons
voted to leave the European Union in a referendum in June.
Last week, the company said it would spend GBP275 million to
increase capacity at three of its U.K. factories, a decision Chief
Executive Andrew Witty said was made despite Britain's Brexit
vote.
-- Tapan Panchal contributed to this article.
Write to Denise Roland at Denise.Roland@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 01, 2016 04:39 ET (08:39 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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