Japan based Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and US based Verily, an Alphabet company, have announced the establishment of a joint venture focused on applying microelectronics and scalable digital technologies to ophthalmology.

One in thirty people worldwide have experienced an issue with eye health and it is estimated that about 80% of visual impairments can be prevented by early detection and treatment.1 In the healthcare industry, digital tools and technologies may present a meaningful way to develop more preventive and proactive solutions.

The new joint venture is driven by a mission to improve eye health for people everywhere, starting by developing solutions to support modern ophthalmology practice globally.

Combining Santen's industry knowledge and technology in ophthalmology and Verily's expertise in development of connected, integrated medical devices and machine learning, the new company plans to create and commercialize unique ophthalmic devices and comprehensive tech-enabled solutions.