GlaxoSmithKline and Google’s life science wing form new bioelectronic medicine company

A fortnight after offering news that it will be using Apple’s ReasearchKit to conduct arthritis research, drug giant GlaxoSmithKline has announced that it will be teaming with Verily, the Alphabet-owned LLC formerly known as Google Life Sciences, to create Galvani Bioelectronics.

The jointly owned venture (55-percent GSK, 45-percent Verily) will work to explore bioelectronic medicine, a field that utilizes tiny implanted devices to alter nerve impulses with electrical signals. The space is believed to have potential to impact such conditions as arthritis, diabetes and asthma. Initial work by the fledgling company will focus on disorders like type 2 diabetes.

The bulk of Galvani’s operations will be located in GSK’s UK-based R&D center, with a secondary research center much closer to Alphabet’s mothership, located in Verily’s South San Francisco offices. There are still some antitrust approvals to work through, but the two companies believe they’ll close the deal before the end of the year.