GSK & Google are teaming up to replace medicines with technology

The bioelectronic medical revolution

So what's this new branch of medical science that's got the attention of two of the world's largest companies? Bioelectronic medicine is a relatively new scientific field which aims to fully overcome a wide range of chronic diseases - not by resorting to medicines or injectables of any kind. Instead, it aims to fight disease by implanting miniature devices into the human body to modify nerve signals.

The venture is named after Luigi Aloisio Galvani, an 18th century Italian scientist and thinker who had been one of the first people to explore the field of bioelectricity and its medical implications. Indeed, purely going by theory, the technology could potentially result in a new class of medicines for disorders ranging from arthritis and asthma to diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease.

Explaining the science behind the tech, Slaoui said: "Many of the processes of the human body are controlled by electrical signals firing between the nervous system and the body's organs, which may become distorted in many chronic diseases. Bioelectronic medicine's vision is to employ the latest advances in biology and technology to interpret this electrical conversation and to correct the irregular patterns found in disease states, using miniaturised devices attached to individual nerves. If successful, this approach offers the potential for a new therapeutic modality alongside traditional medicines and vaccines."

An unlikely but necessary partnership

GSK has, in fact, been researching bioelectronics for some time now. It started back in 2012 and, a year later in 2013, the company published a paper in the Nature journal that revolved around the future of "electroceuticals." This partnership with Alphabet, and the massive investment that has come with it, is proof that GSK believe their initial punt clearly has a lot of potential.

"This agreement with Verily to establish Galvani Bioelectronics signals a crucial step forward in GSK's bioelectronics journey, bringing together health and tech to realise a shared vision of miniaturised, precision electrical therapies. Together, we can rapidly accelerate the pace of progress in this exciting field, to develop innovative medicines that truly speak the electrical language of the body," said Moncef Slaoui of GSK, who was crucial in developing GSK's forays in the field of bioelectronics. Slaoui will also chair a 7-member board of the new company.

For starters the company will look to establish clinical proofs of concept in type two diabetes where evidence about the efficacy of bioelectronics already exists for animal models. Tests will also be done for two diseases that haven't been named but will most likely be under the broad categories of autoimmune and endocrine disorders.

The results from these tests will subsequently be used to direct investments in larger studies. There's already a fairly large resource pool for the scientists to draw from. GSK apparently has spent the last few years in developing a "nerve atlas" - an actual map showing how all the nerves in the body affect organs and disease processes. The crux of the whole project is to channelise all this knowledge and create devices that can 'influence' the corresponding nerve signals to alleviate pain to as great an extent as possible.

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So if GSK has done all of this, what then, you ask, is the need for Verily? The answer lies in Google's, and therefore Verily's, technological expertise. It has experience in dealing with a massive range of information and also interacting with its users. Brian Otis, chief technology officer of Verily agrees, saying, "Of course Verily and Google have a lot of expertise in dealing with large amounts of data, making decisions based on the data, and then feeding back to the user. That's why we think we can contribute in multiple ways to this."

While in theory the investment - and the partnership between GSK and Google - sounds perfect, how much of it actually translates into impact-making practices remains to be seen. If it does succeed, there's a lot to celebrate. And an injection-free visit to the doctor will definitely be high on the list.