Google’s Verily enters drug trials with big pharma

A Google-affiliated company is taking on clinical trials with the pharmaceutical industry, CNBC reported. The health and life sciences business of Google’s parent company Alphabet has launched strategic alliances with Novartis, Sanofi, Otsuka and Pfizer to work in the medical studies space.

Verily, working with the drug companies, aims to engage patients in trials in new ways, facilitate enrollment and participation in trials and aggregate data across sources such as electronic wearables and medical records, CNBC reported. The partnerships come as pharma companies are looking to leverage technology to improve clinical trials, which are historically costly procedures, and get new drugs to patients faster.

Verily could help move the trial process along by placing ads in front of people who are already searching for symptom relief for various ailments, such as asthma.

Verily has recently made headlines for its entries in the healthcare space, including recently launching an AI-powered screening program for eye disease and teaming up with Walgreens to improve the outcomes of patients with chronic conditions. The company has raised more than $1 billion in capital.

See the full story below:

Amy Baxter

Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."

Around the web

A string of executive orders from the White House created serious concerns among radiologists and other healthcare providers throughout the United States. The American College of Radiology issued a statement to help guide its members through the chaos. 

Bridgefield Capital, founded in 2015, has previously invested in such popular brands as Cirque Du Soleil, Del Monte and Quiksilver. This transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025. 

Given the precarious excitement of the moment—or is it exciting precarity?—policymakers and healthcare leaders must set directives guiding not only what to do with AI but also when to do it.