Verily, the life sciences unit of Google-owner Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is teaming up with French pharmaceuticals giant Sanofi SA (NYSE:SNY) to tackle diabetes.
The two companies will jointly invest around US$500mln in a joint venture, Onduo, that will see Verily’s expertise in miniaturised electronics, analytics and software development harnessed to Sanofi’s clinical expertise.
Onduo`s mission is to help people with diabetes live full, healthy lives by developing comprehensive solutions that combine devices, software, medicine, and professional care to enable simple and intelligent disease management.
The partnership should not come as a total surprise as Sanofi announced last year it was planning to hook up with the Google owner.
The initial focus of the joint venture, will be on the type 2 diabetes community, “specifically on developing solutions that could help people make better decisions about their day-to-day health, ranging from improved medication management to improved habits and goals," a statement said.
From there, the company plans to broaden its approach to encompass the type 1 diabetes community, and thereafter people who are deemed to be in danger of developing diabetes.