GE Healthcare said it plans to dedicate $1 billion of its total research and development (R&D) budget over the next five years to expand its advanced cancer diagnostic and molecular imaging capabilities.

The GE's health business pointed out that the funds will help the company develop its 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, said a senior official.

“We are committed to tackling cancer. However, with a disease as complex and multifaceted as cancer, solutions need to be equally multifaceted and even more integrated, combining imaging, molecular diagnostics and healthcare IT,” said John Dineen, president and CEO, GE Healthcare.

“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,” he noted.

The investment will enable the company to bring the most promising cancer ideas to market, unleashing technologies that improve accuracy of diagnosis to enable more effective treatment decisions and empower doctors and patients with better information, Dineen added.

A key global healthcare challenge is the dramatic increase in cancer incidence around the world. According to World Health Organization data, cancer rates could increase by 50 percent, leading to 15 million new cases in 2020. From a clinical standpoint, the rapid increase in targeted and patient-specific cancer therapies is driving demand for molecular diagnostics.
Building a ‘Deeper Bench’ of Oncology Expertise

GE Healthcare 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 (2004), Biacore International AB (2006), Wave Biotech (2007), MicroCal (2008), Clarient (2010) and Applied Precision (2011) and a joint venture Omnyx (2009).

'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,' said Dineen.

'These innovative technologies help researchers increase their understanding of the causes and progression of cancer and help physicians make more personalized cancer treatment and management decisions, while improving clinical outcomes and accelerating the delivery of care,' he added.

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 proprietary agents.
 
“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,” said 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,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service