GE Healthcare Acquires Biosafe Group SA

GE Healthcare has acquired Biosafe Group SA, a supplier of integrated cell bioprocessing systems for the rapidly growing cell therapy and regenerative medicine industry. The acquisition—for an undisclosed sum—expands GE Healthcare’s end-to-end ecosystem of products, solutions and services for its cell therapy customers, and expands the company’s technology reach to a number of new cell and therapy types.
 
Cellular therapies are rapidly changing the healthcare landscape by providing life-saving and potentially curative treatments for many of the world’s most challenging diseases, especially cancer. The cell therapy oncology market alone is expected to reach $30 billion by 2030¹ with more than 600 potentially life-changing therapies in clinical trials at the end of 2015.²

“GE is building a set of tools, technologies and services for cell and gene therapy and Biosafe’s expertise and innovative systems will strongly enhance our customer offering,” said Kieran Murphy, CEO of Life Sciences at GE Healthcare. “GE and Biosafe 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.”
 
Biosafe, headquartered in the Lake Geneva region in Switzerland, with a global presence, has a 20-year track-record in automated cell processing and is a recognized leader in the field with reliable applications in bioprocessing, regenerative medicine and stem cell banking. Its proprietary products offer significant advantages over conventional processing tools, with closed fluid pathways, built-in traceability and single-use consumables. The strong strategic fit and complementary business models of GE Healthcare’s Life Sciences business and Biosafe combined with expanded capabilities in product development and commercial reach, will offer significant customer and ultimately patient benefits.
 
“Together with GE we will have the combination of biological, engineering and industrial capabilities to help accelerate the fields of cell therapy and cellular immunotherapy into the mainstream, benefitting patients globally, and bringing the vision of personalized medicine to reality,” said Claude Fell, founder and chairman of Biosafe Group SA.

Olivier Waridel, Biosafe CEO, who will continue to lead Biosafe within the new integrated GEHC structure, added: “Joining GE Healthcare will give Biosafe an outstanding opportunity to couple its  cell processing technology with GE Healthcare’s global infrastructure, leading to improved capabilities for our customers and enhanced market penetration.”
 
GE’s strategy is to work with the industry and partners to develop a digitally-enabled ecosystem of complete tools, solutions and services for cell therapy aimed at accelerating the standardization, collaboration and integration customers need to bring these new therapies into mainstream clinical practice. GE has engaged globally with leaders in the industry, such as Canada’s Center for the Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine, the United Kingdom’s Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, Australia’s Cell Therapy Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre, and other clinical centers such as UPenn, Karolinska Institute, Memorial Sloan-Kettering and Mayo Clinic.
 
In 2016, GE has announced further significant investments in the cell therapy and regenerative medicine space. In April, GE Ventures and Mayo Clinic announced the launch of Vitruvian Networks, Inc., an independent platform company committed to accelerating access to cell and gene therapies through advanced, cloud-ready software systems and manufacturing services. In January, GE announced the BridGE@CCRM Cell Therapy Centre of Excellence, a $31.5 million co-investment with the Canadian Government to promote new technologies for the production of cellular therapies in Toronto.
 
GE Healthcare provides medical technologies and services to meet the demand for increased access, enhanced quality and more affordable healthcare around the world. Its offerings include medical imaging, software and IT, patient monitoring and diagnostics, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing, and performance improvement solutions.
 
Founded in 1997, the Biosafe Group is active in the design, manufacture and marketing of automated cell processing systems. Headquartered in Switzerland and privately-owned, the Biosafe Group operates through regional subsidiaries (Geneva, Switzerland; Houston, Texas; Hong-Kong, China; Shanghai, China; and São Paulo, Brazil) and is present in more than 50 countries, either directly or through distributors.

References:
1. http://www.centerwatch.com/news-online/2015/10/23/t-cell-immunotherapy-market-may-be-worth-30b-by-2030/
2. Alliance for Regenerative Medicine Q1 Data Report 2016