GE Healthcare Completes Acquisition of Coincidence Technologies S.A.

BUC, FRANCE and WAUKESHA, Wis., U.S.A. - GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) finalized the acquisition of Coincidence Technologies S.A. today. Coincidence Technologies is a leader in the design, development and manufacturing of state-of-the-art synthesis and handling units for positron emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceuticals. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

With the completion of this acquisition, GE Medical now offers all the tracer production tools needed for customers to set-up both PET distribution facilities and clinical sites. "We believe that customers will welcome this strategic acquisition as it will accelerate the research and development of projects focused on handling PET compounds beyond FDG," said Dow Wilson, Global General Manager of Functional and Molecular Imaging for GE Healthcare. "Coincidence's industry leading PET synthesis technology provides a strong foundation for tomorrow's molecular imaging chemistries."

Coincidence Technologies S.A., a Belgium-based company, has experienced a strong growth trend during the past two years as a direct result of the performance of its Fluoro-Deoxy-Glucose (FDG) Synthesizer product. A synthesizer unit is used in conjunction with a cyclotron, providing the final chemical process step to produce ¹⁸F-FDG. This final step ultimately determines the quantity and quality of ¹⁸F-FDG.

"By combining our technology with GE's offering breadth, global distribution and service support, we create an opportunity to better serve customers in the rapidly growing areas of PET and cyclotrons," said Jean-Luc Morelle, Director of Coincidence Technologies.

The Coincidence Synthesizer unit has demonstrated above average yields of 18F- FDG, in excess of 60 percent, at a high number of cyclotron installation sites worldwide. The higher yields have allowed cyclotron users to produce more FDG per production run.

"Adding Coincidence's technology is another important step in building GE Healthcare' business in the emerging field of Molecular Imaging," said Thomas Hook, General Manager of Global PET for GE Healthcare. "Furthermore, it is a great addition to our range of product offerings, providing customers with a ‘one-stop shop’ to meet their PET, PET/CT and cyclotron needs."

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare is an $8 billion global leader in medical information and technology. Its offerings include networking and productivity tools, clinical information systems, patient monitoring systems, conventional and digital X-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), ultrasound and bone mineral densitometry, positron emission tomography (PET) and nuclear medicine. For more than 100 years, health care providers worldwide have relied on GE Healthcare for high quality medical technology, services and productivity solutions. For more information, visit the GE Healthcare Web site at gehealthcare.com.