Sanofi joins Google in diabetes tech push
pharmafile | September 1, 2015 | News story | Medical Communications | Andy Conrad, Google life sciences, Sanofi, Type 1 diabetes, diabetes, google, type 2 diabetes
Google is continuing its work in diabetes, by teaming up with pharma giants Sanofi to create new digital technologies and tools for people with the condition.
Sanofi and Google say the collaboration, along with the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, will work together “to shift [diabetes management] from episodic, event-driven diabetes care to continuous, value-based care.”
The partners will aim to use data and ‘miniaturised technology’ – such as Google’s recently announced plans to build a ‘small and affordable blood glucose monitor’ – to provide patients with more tools to self-manage their disease, and provide healthcare professionals with tools to better support and treat patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Google recently announced it will reorganise itself as Alphabet, under which Google Life Sciences will become a standalone division. Sanofi and Google Life Sciences “will pair Sanofi’s leadership in diabetes treatments and devices” – including recently launched insulin treatment Toujeo with “Google’s expertise in analytics, miniaturised electronics and low power chip design.”
In a statement the companies say: “We will explore how to improve diabetes care by developing new tools that bring together many of the previously siloed pieces of diabetes management and enable new kinds of interventions. This includes health indicators such as blood glucose and haemoglobin levels, patient-reported information, medication regimens and sensor devices.
“Sanofi and the life sciences team at Google will combine their respective expertise in science and technology to work on better ways to collect, analyse and understand multiple sources of information impacting diabetes. The hope is that it will be easier for patients to successfully manage their diabetes, which would reduce the risk of complications, improve outcomes and ultimately lower costs.”
Sanofi chief executive Olivier Brandicourt says: “As a global leader in diabetes care, we have both an obligation and a commitment to provide integrated solutions for people living with diabetes. This initiative combines Sanofi’s strength and knowledge in diabetes with Google’s leadership in technology and analytics to create a first-of-its-kind initiative with the potential to transform diabetes care.”
Sanofi’s global diabetes and cardiovascular care business unit which will work with Google is lead by executive vice president Pascale Witz, who adds: “We have built expertise in providing holistic, integrated solutions that combine medicines, devices, technologies and services. The life sciences team at Google can help us improve the patient experience, outcomes and manage healthcare costs more effectively.”
While Andy Conrad, chief executive of the life sciences team at Google, says: “With new technologies emerging to provide a more continuous and real-time view of a patient’s health, we can see the promise for more proactive and effective ways to control diabetes. Together with Sanofi, we believe diabetes management can be simpler and more convenient, which may help patients achieve an improved quality of life.”
This is not the first pharma collaboration of this type for Google. The firm is also working with Novartis to develop a new type of contact lens designed to help patients with diabetes measure their blood sugar levels.
Lilian Anekwe
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