Santen Pharmaceutical (OTC:SNPHY) and Verily, an Alphabet (NSDQ:GOOGL) company, announced that they are entering into a joint venture to focus on applying microelectronics and scalable digital technologies to ophthalmology.
Osaka, Japan-based Santen and San Francisco-based Verily say they want to improve eye health globally.
According to a news release, the joint venture is slated to combine Santen’s ophthalmology knowledge and technology with Verily’s developmental abilities to create and commercialize unique devices in the ophthalmic space.
“This joint venture will combine Verily’s cutting-edge digital technology and our global industrial and commercial ophthalmology business platform to pursue innovation in ophthalmology,” Santen president & COO Shigeo Taniuchi said in the news release. “Santen has actively promoted collaboration and open innovation with various external organizations in order to enhance eye health, and corresponding quality of life, for people around the world.
“Digital technology is a transformational driver in health and we hope that this joint venture will be a significant step forward in paving the way for better eye care around the world.”
Included among the ophthalmic solutions the joint venture is set to explore are treatments for glaucoma, dry eye and more, according to Verily senior director of ophthalmic innovation Dr. Dimitri Azar, who is the CEO-designate of the joint venture.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Santen, a global company with an established presence in the ophthalmology industry, to develop novel solutions leveraging microelectronics and machine learning for better eye care,” Azar said. “Our focus is first and foremost on taking care of patients. … We’ll explore ways to use technology not only to diagnose disease, but to improve treatment and develop more precise interventions in ophthalmology.”