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Google, Sanofi launch joint diabetes venture

The partners will develop a comprehensive diabetes platform and combine software, devices, medicine and professional care to improve diabetes management for patients.
By Jessica Davis , Senior Editor

Verily Life Sciences, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet and Sanofi, a French multinational pharmaceutical company launched Onduo - a joint venture to improve diabetes care, the companies announced Monday.

The collaboration will leverage Verily’s miniaturized electronics, analytics and consumer software with Sanofi’s clinical expertise to create innovative treatments for diabetes patients, the companies said in a statement.

Onduo is designed to “help people with diabetes live full, healthy lives by developing comprehensive solutions that combine devices, software, medicine and professional care to enable simple and intelligent disease management,” they added.

To start, Onduo will focus on type 2 diabetes patients, with the goal of developing tools to help patients make more informed decisions on their healthcare using medication management and other tools. The companies said they would eventually expand this focus to include type 1 diabetes patients and those at-risk for the disease.

“The integration of multiple interventions, such as data-driven patient support and devices in addition to treatment, can help improve outcomes,” Peter Guenter, executive vice president, Global Diabetes & Cardiovascular Business Unit of Sanofi, said in a statement.

“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,” he added. “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.”

No financial information about the partnership has been revealed. However, Sanofi said it invested $248 million in the venture, which the company said is a 50 percent stake, according to Reuters.

Joshua Riff, MD, will serve as Onduo’s chief executive officer. Riff most recently served as senior vice president of prevention and wellbeing at Optum, the health services company of UnitedHealth Group.

Onduo is currently in discussion with patient advocacy groups like Taking Control of Your Diabetes for input on future designs.

Twitter: @JessieFDavis
Email the writer: jessica.davis@himssmedia.com


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