Nervous energy: How bioelectronics is transforming healthcare

In 1780, Italian scientists Lucia and Luigi Galvani performed one of the earliest and most famous experiments in bioelectricity, applying an electrical charge to a dead frog that caused its leg muscles to twitch. Nearly two and a half centuries later, the field of bioelectronics has evolved, though many applications have remained confined to the laboratory. That is about to change. 

 To this point, internal electrical stimulation has been somewhat limited, with pacemakers for the heart and deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson’s and epilepsy probably the best-known examples. Now a new wave of biomedical companies is seeking to expand the field, hacking the body’s codes to treat everything from arthritis and diabetes to cancer, cardiovascular disease and asthma.   

At the forefront of this wave is Galvani Bioelectronics – its name a nod to the Italian couple who pioneered those first amphibian experiments. A joint venture between pharma giant GSK and Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences), the company has both the pedigree and the pockets to catapult bioelectronics forward, carving out an entirely new therapeutic segment in healthcare.