Sanofi and Google forge $500 million diabetes partnership

Sanofi is set to join forces with Alphabet’s life sciences firm Verily in a $500 million partnership to develop diabetes solutions.

This news is hot on the heels of last month’s news that the Google owner would be teaming up with GSK in a $540 million joint bioelectronics medicine development venture.

“[Sanofi] will leverage Verily's experience in miniaturised electronics, analytics, and consumer software development, with Sanofi's clinical expertise and experience in bringing innovative treatments to people living with diabetes,” the two companies said in a statement.

The statement also outlined that the joint venture, named Onduo, "will initially focus 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."

Sanofi has reportedly invested $248 million for a 50% stake in the venture.

“The integration of multiple interventions, such as data-driven patient support and devices in addition to treatment, can help improve outcomes, which is important from the perspective of patients, healthcare professionals and the overall healthcare system,” said Peter Guenter, executive vice president, head of Global Diabetes & Cardiovascular Business Unit at Sanofi. “The new company Sanofi and Verily invested in will adopt a more service-centric approach and support doctors in their efforts to treat their patients more effectively. In addition to developing innovative therapies for diabetes which will remain a key focus for Sanofi, we see these solutions which combine innovative therapies and services as the future for diabetes care.  We believe this will help societies cope with the burden of this epidemic.”

Currently, almost 400 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes, with type 2 cases accounting for 90% of all instances of the illness.

Matt Fellows