Alphabet has decided to spin out the life sciences division of Google X as a standalone company, Sergey Brin shared the news on his Google+ page. The new entity will continue to work with other life sciences companies, including those that are also owned by Google Alphabet, to move new technologies from early stage R&D to clinical testing, and hopefully “transform the way we detect, prevent, and manage disease.”
Andy Conrad will keep its helm at the top, while the reporting structure will be different. The team, according to Brin, is relatively new involving software engineers, oncologists, and optics experts.
Google started its life science efforts with a smart contact lens and has later decided to partner with Novartis to commercialize those efforts. Later on, it got involved in a number of initiatives, launching healthcare-related projects like Google Fit, Google Genomics, smart watch for clinical trials, and a smart pill that seeks out cancerous cells. The search giant has also been partnering left and right with companies across the healthcare spectrum to put its expertise to good use. With Johnson & Johnson, it is looking to advance robotic surgery; with DexCom – Google is trying to make low-cost continuous glucose monitoring products; with Broad Institute – it wants to help improve DNA analysis; and with Aclima – the company’s Street View team is looking to map outdoor air quality.
Google also acquired Lift Labs, the company that makes the tremor-canceling spoon designed for people with Parkinson’s or essential tremor.