French biopharmaceutical company Sanofi and tech giant Google are partnering to leverage machine learning, artificial intelligence and deep analytics technologies across data sets to better understand major diseases.

WHY IT MATTERS
By tapping into emerging data technologies, Sanofi hopes to streamline operational efficiency, better understand patients and diseases and provide improved care to those patients.

The company said it also plans to use Google's Cloud Platform as it moves ahead with digitalization efforts, in part to simplify legacy data management.

As part of the plan, the companies will apply analytics to Sanofi's real world database to better understand what treatments work for patients, determine what technologies could be used to improve treatment, and provide a more personalized approach overall.

THE LARGER TREND
Google and Sanofi have partnered before in fact – back in 2016 the companies announced plans to develop a comprehensive diabetes platform that combines software, devices, medicine and professional care to improve diabetes management for patients.

A number of health systems, biopharma firms and life science companies are turning towards data driven digital innovations to streamline operations and provide better services and products, as well as modernize the management of health data.

This past week French 3D and product lifecycle management specialist Dassault Systèmes acquired Medidata Solutions, a provider of SaaS-based clinical development software, for $5.8 billion.

Medidata's cloud-based services help with the development of therapeutic innovations and clinical operations performance for pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology firms and others.

In April, Deloitte and Google Cloud announced plans to collaborate on a suite of advanced solutions for the life sciences and healthcare industries, which are aimed at helping accelerate the pace of biomedical research, improving access to healthcare, optimizing operations.

Deloitte's view of the future places empowered consumers at the center of the frame, able to take advantage of open, secure platforms that intermingle disparate information for care coordination and wellness "nudges."

The company's forecast for the healthcare market in the year 2040 revolves around vast and disparate sets of data that be accessed in real-time and analyzed for patterns that impact someone's health and wellness.

ON THE RECORD
"We stand on the forefront of a new age for biology and human health, with the opportunity to transform healthcare through partnerships with pioneering technology and analytics companies," said Dr. Ameet Nathwani, Sanofi's chief digital officer, chief medical officer and EVP of medical, in a statement.

"Combining Sanofi's biologic innovations and scientific data with Google's capabilities from cloud computing to state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, we aspire to give people more control over their health and accelerate the discovery of new therapies," Nathwani continued.