Sanofi, Google launch diabetes venture

Onduo, which will be based in the US, will bring together Sanofi’s clinical expertise and Verily's experience in miniaturised electronics, analytics, and consumer software development. Its goal is 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.”

Initially, Onduo will focus on the type 2 diabetes community, specifically on developing solutions that could help people make better decisions about their day to day health, ranging from improved medication management to improved habits and goals. Over time, the company plans to expand its focus to include the type 1 diabetes community, and eventually to people at risk of developing diabetes with the goal of helping them better prevent the onset of the disease.

Leading the venture will be Joshua Riff, who joins from Optum, the health services company of UnitedHealth Group. “My experience as a physician and in leading consumer health initiatives has shown me the daily burden of living with diabetes,” commented Riff. “We want to develop solutions that allow people living with diabetes to focus on the things they love and enjoy in life by providing tools to make dealing with their diabetes less burdensome.”

Peter Guenter, Executive Vice President, Head, Global Diabetes & Cardiovascular Business Unit of Sanofi, added: “The new company [...] will adopt a more service-centric approach and support doctors in their efforts to treat their patients more effectively. 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.”

In early August, Verily already teamed up with GlaxoSmithKline to create bioelectronic medicine developer Galvani Bioelectronics.