The U.S. Senate on February 15 voted to confirm Dr. Robert Califf as commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after some senators had argued his ties to the pharmaceutical industry or views on birth control made him unfit for the role.

Galvani Bioelectronics, a clinical-stage company formed through a strategic partnership between GlaxoSmithKline and Verily Life Sciences in 2016 with the aim to develop targeted neuromodulation therapies, announced that the first patient with rheumatoid arthritis was treated through stimulation of the splenic nerve using the its novel bioelectronics platform.

Isomorphic Laboratories, an AI-driven startup owned by Google parent firm Alphabet, announced plans to foray into drug discovery and development by tapping into the technology of its sister company DeepMind. 

Google’s Verily snapped up Raleigh, N.C.-based SignalPath and the company’s clinical trial management system that is expected to support its own clinical trial and evidence-based platform known as Baseline.

California announced an app to help people track their exposure to the coronavirus, becoming the largest U.S. state to take advantage of new technology from smartphone software makers Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google.

A new wave of mobile apps that help track exposure to the coronavirus is coming to U.S. states ahead of the holidays as public health officials bet that recently introduced features from Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google will significantly boost adoption and impact.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization for a Covid-19 test from Alphabet Inc. unit Verily Life Sciences.

Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Apple Inc. announced a new system that will enable public health authorities to use smartphones to assist in contact tracing without having to build an app.

North Dakota, Wyoming and Alabama are the latest U.S. states launching apps to warn users about potential exposure to the novel coronavirus by tracking their encounters, representatives for the states told Reuters.

Alphabet company Verily is partnering with Emory Healthcare to deploy new solutions to help improve cost-effectiveness, operational efficiency and quality.