UK drugmaker Glaxo SmithKline (GSK) is teaming up with Verily Life Sciences (formerly Google Life Sciences) to create a new company focused on developing bioelectronic medicines for chronic diseases. Galvani Bioelectronics, will be owned to 55% by GSK and 45% by Verily. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The venture will enable research, development and commercialization of bioelectronic drugs – a relatively new field that uses miniaturized implantable devices to modify the electrical signals sent by the body’s nervous system.

Active in this field since 2012, GSK believes certain chronic conditions such as arthritis, diabetes and asthma could potentially be treated with the implants. The new company will combine GSK’s drug development and understanding of disease biology with Verily’s expertise in miniature electronics, data and software.

Each of the parent companies will contribute existing intellectual property rights and invest up to £540 million over seven years, subject to successful completion of various discovery and development milestones.

Galvani will be headquartered at GSK’s global R&D centre in Stevenage, UK, with a second research hub at Verily’s facilities in South San Francisco, USA. The firm will initially employ around 30 expert scientists, engineers and clinicians, and fund a broad range of collaborations with both parent companies, academia and other R&D organizations.

In the beginning, work will center on establishing clinical proofs of principle in inflammatory, metabolic and endocrine disorders, including type 2 diabetes where substantial evidence already exists in animal models, and developing associated miniaturized, precision devices. Moncef Slaoui, GSK’s chairman of global vaccines, said the agreement with Verily is a crucial step forward and combines health and technology to realize a shared vision of miniaturized, 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,” he commented.

A seven-member board, chaired by Slaoui, will be appointed and will include Verily’s CEO Andrew Conrad. Kris Famm, GSK’s vice president of bioelectronics R&D, has been appointed president of Galvani. The agreement is expected to close before the end of 2016, subject to the usual closing conditions, including antitrust approvals.