Slaughter and May is advising GlaxoSmithKline - agreement with Verily Life Sciences to form Galvani Bioelectronics

Slaughter and May is advising GlaxoSmithKline plc on its agreement with Verily Life Sciences LLC (formerly Google Life Sciences), an Alphabet company, to form Galvani Bioelectronics to enable the research, development and commercialisation of bioelectronics medicines. Bioelectronic medicine is a relatively new scientific field that aims to tackle a wide range of chronic diseases using miniaturised, implantable devices that can modify electrical signals that pass along nerves in the body.

GSK will hold a 55% equity interest in the new jointly owned company and Verily will hold 45%. Galvani Bioelectronics will be headquartered in the UK, with the parent companies contributing existing intellectual property rights and an investment of up to £540 million over seven years, subject to successful completion of various discovery and development milestones.

Slaughter and May is supporting the GSK legal team which is led by Antony Braithwaite and Gwynedd Warren.