Vienna: Swiss medicine maker Novartis said on Tuesday it would join US technology giant Google in developing and marketing a digital contact lens for diabetics, which could speed up the commercial launch of the product.
Novartis, one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies, said at its Basel headquarters that it would acquire a licence to develop and sell products based on Google's prototype.
Google announced in January that it had developed a contact lens that can measure blood sugar and warn users when levels fluctuate.
Smart lenses could potentially be used also to restore the ability to focus in ageing eyes, Novartis said.
The Google prototype contains an electronic sensor and a microchip to transmit data to mobile phones.
