In this week's Nature, GSK have announced their initiative to work with the global scientific
community to develop bioelectronic medicines. These micro- and nanoscale devices, so-called
"electroceuticals", will aim to control biological processes and
treat disease by modulating the electrical impulses that travel along nerves,
so to restore a healthy status quo of specific organs and functions. It is
acknowledged that "to develop treatment devices, bioengineers designing
biocompatible interfaces will need to collaborate with electrical engineers to
develop microchips for real-time signal processing; with nanotechnologists to
create energy sources; and with neurosurgeons to ensure that these designs can
be implanted and connected."
To catalyse and show its commitment to this new field GSK is offering
some incentives to integrate the scientific community around fundamental
challenges. It has launched a exploratory funding
program which will fully fund up to 40 researchers
in up to 20 external labs, to conduct exploratory work mapping
disease-associated neural circuits. It is open for applications throughout
2013. Funding will be rewarded on a rolling basis after a one-month review and
approval process.
Secondly, working with InnoCentive, GSK have launched a challenge competition to identify a specific disorder that can serve as a proof-of-principle
test for electroceutical solutions. The challenge has a total purse of $5,000
and a deadline of 11 May 2013 for proposals.