Verily Life Sciences, a division of Alphabet, has received an $800 million investment from Temasek, a Singapore sovereign wealth fund, according to a company news release. The investment could pave the way for the kind of joint ventures and programs Verily has embarked on with the likes of Sanofi, GSK, and others.
In response to emailed questions, Verily spokeswoman Carolyn Wang said the deal is more about adding a strategic partner than providing operational cash. She noted that it does give the business more options for carrying out its vision.
“Proceeds may be used to support our growth in key strategic areas, including potential acquisitions, investment in partnerships and developing new opportunities on a global scale,” Wang said.
Temasek is also keen to invest in the U.S. market and opened a San Francisco office last year. Healthcare technology and life sciences are among its investment interests. The investment in Verily gives Temasek a minority stake in the company and a seat on Verily’s operating board.
Andrew Conrad Verily CEO said in the statement: “With a substantial network and insights into the economies in Asia, Temasek will provide valuable guidance as we look to ex-US markets with our development partners.”
Last year, Verily and Sanofi embarked on joint venture Onduo to develop a product aimed at diabetes management for Type 2 diabetes patients with the goal of changing behavior. Joshua Riff, the CEO of Onduo, offered a bareboned description of the product under development in a Google hangout in September. He noted that it would be a digital platform that will include software, hardware and a service.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
In a bioelectronic medicine joint venture, Galvani Bioelectronics, GSK and Verily will use implantable devices to alter electrical signals in nerves for the treatment of debilitating chronic diseases.
Surgical robotics is another area of interest for Verily through a joint venture with Johnson & Johnson called Verb Surgical.
In the realm of population health management technology, Verily embarked on a collaboration with 3M Health Information Systems. In a press release at the time of the announcement Tom Stanis, Verily’s head of software and analytics said:
“Together, with 3M’s know-how and deep expertise in parsing and coding clinical data, we imagine a world where providers have precise information to guide focused improvement, and can consistently access objective, actionable feedback to make informed decisions.”
Photo: Nicols Meroo, Getty Images
