GE Expands Cell Therapy Initiative

GE Healthcare has acquired Biosafe Group, a supplier of integrated cell bioprocessing systems for the growing cell therapy and regenerative medicine industry for an undisclosed sum. 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.

Cellular therapies are changing the healthcare landscape by providing treatments for diseases, especially cancer. The cell therapy oncology market alone is expected to reach $30 billion by 2030 with more than 600 potentially life-changing therapies in clinical trials at the end of 2015.

Biosafe is headquartered in the Lake Geneva region in Switzerland and has a global presence wit a 20-year track record in automated cell processing. According to the company, its proprietary products offer advantages over conventional processing tools, with closed fluid pathways, built-in traceability and single-use consumables. The strategic fit and complementary business models of GE Healthcare’s Life Sciences business and Biosafe combined will offer expanded capabilities in product development and commercial reach.

“GE is building a world-class 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, chief executive officer, Life Sciences, 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.”

Claude Fell, founder and chairman, Biosafe Group SA, said, “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.”

Olivier Waridel, Biosafe chief executive officer, will continue to lead Biosafe within the new integrated GEHC structure. “Joining GE Healthcare will give Biosafe an outstanding opportunity to couple its unique cell processing technology with GE Healthcare’s strong, global infrastructure, leading to improved capabilities for our customers and enhanced market penetration,” he said.

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 UK’s Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, Australia’s Cell Therapy Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre and leading clinical centers such as UPenn, Karolinska Institute, Memorial Sloan-Kettering and Mayo Clinic. 

In 2016, GE has announced further investments in the cell therapy and regenerative medicine space. In April, GE Ventures and Mayo Clinic announced the launch of Vitruvian Networks, 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.