GE acquires Biosafe Group, expanding GE's technology reach
Acquisition is geared to building up GE's tools and services for cell and gene therapy, company says.
Packaging radioactive pharmaceuticals at GE Healthcare's facility in Amersham, England (Google)
GE Healthcare has acquired Biosafe Group, which supplies integrated cell bioprocessing systems for the cell therapy and regenerative medicine industry, for an undisclosed sum, the company announced Wednesday.
The acquisition of Biosafe expands GE Healthcare's end-to-end ecosystem of products, solutions and services for its cell therapy customers and expands GE's technology reach to a number of new cell and therapy types, according to a statement from Kieran Murphy, GE Healthcare's Life Sciences CEO.
Biosafe, headquartered in the Lake Geneva region in Switzerland, markets products with closed fluid pathways, built-in traceability, and single-use consumables.
The acquisition is geared to building up GE's tools and services for cell and gene therapy, and enhancing its customer offering, with Murphy stating that the two organizations "share a vision of an integrated approach to helping customers optimize every stage of their process to reduce production risks dramatically and increase access to these remarkable new medicines."
Claude Fell, founder and chairman of Biosafe, said in his own statement that the companies "will have the combination of biological, engineering and industrial capabilities to help accelerate the fields of cell therapy and cellular immunotherapy into the mainstream."
[Also: The opposite of inversion: GE Healthcare moves global headquarters from UK to Chicago]
In a move that appeared to go against the corporate trend, GE Healthcare announced in January that its global headquarters would move from the United Kingdom to Chicago effective earlier this year.
The shift will enable executive leadership to be closer to operations in Chicago and Milwaukee, while remaining near an international transportation hub, GE Healthcare said.
Its headquarters were previously in Amersham, UK, where GE Healthcare is keeping its global Life Sciences head office and a base for UK operations.
The Biosafe deal is the second acquisition for GE in less than a year. Last November, it acquired advisory firm The Camden Group, adding its more than 2,000 health organization customers to its U.S.-based consulting business.
Twitter: @JElagasse
