It s official: Diabetes will be the first major focus of Google s life sciences wing as it shifts into becoming its own subsidiary of parent company Alphabet.
And its fast-growing team of about 150 scientists and engineers is wasting no time, announcing Monday a partnership with French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi SA and a renowned diabetes research institute in Boston.
Google has a real desire and focus to transform health care, said John Brooks, CEO of the Harvard-affiliated Joslin Diabetes Center, in an interview Monday. The idea here is to really disrupt health care and disrupt diabetes. I think they want to be right in the middle of it.
Brooks said he met in the spring with Andy Conrad, CEO of Alphabet s as-yet-unnamed life sciences company, and was impressed by the very disruptive technologies the team was developing.
Google has already publicly revealed several of its inventions and collaborations that could play a role in diabetes management: a wristband that can act as a health sensor; a glucose-monitoring contact lens project developed in partnership with Alcon, the eye care division of Novartis; and another glucose monitoring partnership with San Diego-based Dexcom that would involve a disposable, Internet-connected device the size of a Band-aid.
Sanofi, which sells insulin drugs and other medications, said in a joint statement with Google on Monday that it would leverage the Mountain View tech giant s expertise in analytics, miniaturized electronics and low power chip design with its own medical treatments.
The companies declined to say how much they have invested in the deal or how long it will last.
The Joslin Diabetes Center, which frequently works with Sanofi on clinical research, will serve as an adviser.
Helping people manage their own blood sugar levels is key to treating the chronic disease, and we have a particularly expertise in really translating (treatment models) so it s something patients want to use, Brooks said.
In addition to announcing its Sanafi partnership, Google also on Monday revealed the leadership within its new life science divisions and what they are working on. Here s what the company says about its developing products:
Above: A contact lens that measures glucose levels in tears is one of the products being developed by a Google s life sciences team as it becomes its own subsidiary of parent company Alphabet. A glitter-sized wireless chip and sensor could serve as an early warning for the diabetes patient who wears it, switching on tiny LED lights when blood sugar levels cross a threshold. (Photo courtesy of Google)
