GE Healthcare to invest $1 billion in new oncology solutions

MANILA, Philippines - GE Healthcare, the health business of General Electric, announced its plans to dedicate $1 billion of its total R&D budget over the next five years to expand its advanced cancer diagnostic and molecular imaging capabilities, as well as its world-class technologies for the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals and for cancer research.

Announced alongside a $100 million open innovation challenge in New York City, the $1 billion investment crosses all lines of GE Healthcare’s global business and is an example of the company’s commitment to fighting cancer.

“As one of the most relevant global cancer diagnostic companies, we are devoting an even greater share of our R&D budget to continue developing new oncology solutions,” says John Dineen, president and CEO, GE Healthcare.?

Today, GE Healthcare already offers a wide portfolio for oncology and a strategy that combines cellular research, medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and information technology. It is seen as a leader in diagnostic imaging for the detection of cancer and as a leading provider of technologies for cancer research and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. In recent years, the company has significantly expanded its presence in the oncology arena through strategic acquisitions, including Amersham plc. (2004), Biacore International AB (2006), Wave Biotech LLC (2007), MicroCal LLC (2008), Clarient (2010) and Applied Precision (2011) and a joint venture Omnyx (2009).

Ge Healthcare is introducing new tracers to the FASTlab multi-tracer platform, an advanced PET chemistry system on which the company is also developing PET propriety agents. FASTlab offers a number of significant enhancements to address the ever-evolving challenges of tracer production.

“The only way we can help clinicians beat cancer is to give them the tools to find it earlier, stage it better, and quantitatively measure response to therapy,” says GE vice president and GE Healthcare chief technology officer Mike Harsh, who oversees GE Healthcare’s global research and development efforts. The integration of GE Healthcare’s expertise in imaging, analytics, diagnostics, cellular analysis, and healthcare IT is helping create technologies and solutions that can be used in a rural developing country or in a modern urban hospital.”

The investment will focus on developing new oncology solutions and build on advanced technologies and research already in progress, as follows:

· New biomarkers: A leader in the fast-growing in vitro molecular diagnostic sector, GE’s Clarient business provides diagnostic tests that pathologists and oncologists use to understand the nature of a cancer.

· Molecular photology: GE Global Research scientists are working on an exclusive cancer diagnostic technology that may give a clearer picture of pathways driving specific tumors.  

· Cancer research: The company’s innovative technologies for Life Science research are used in cancer research laboratories worldwide to advance understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind cancer. 

· Biopharmaceutical manufacturing: GE’s world-class biotechnology products and services are used in the manufacture of the majority of FDA-approved biopharmaceuticals and are important for developing new and targeted cancer therapies.

· Hyperpolarizer: In collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), GE Healthcare and GE Global Research are developing new C13-based agents for metabolic imaging.

· Connected oncology workflow: MD Connect is a new, innovative thin-client solution designed for oncology that addresses the need for a seamless workflow from scan to plan through monitoring treatment effectiveness.