Glaxo and Verily, which will each own 55pc and 45pc of the company respectively, will together invest up to £540m into the partnership over the next seven years as Galvani completes various discovery and development milestones.

"This is a very cool deal and shows Glaxo's commitment to UK R&D," said Dr David Cox, a healthcare analyst at Panmure Gordon.

The agreement to establish Galvani is an important step in Glaxo's early stage bioelectronics research, which started in 2012, and comes just a week after the global pharmaceuticals giant announced plans to invest £275m in its manufacturing labs across the UK.

Bioelectronic medicine is a relatively new scientific field that aims to tackle a wide range of chronic diseases by implanting miniature devices into the body to modify electrical signals that pass along nerves, avoiding the need for pills or injections.