GE Medical Systems and Amersham Health Establish Broad Research Collaboration
Companies to Research New Molecular Diagnostics Based on Positron Emission Tomography Imaging Technologies
WAUKESHA, Wis. and LONDON, U.K. – GE Medical Systems, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) and Amersham Health (formerly Nycomed Amersham Imaging), a business of Amersham plc, (LSE, NYSE, OSE: AHM) announced today that the companies have signed a broad collaborative research agreement to accelerate the development of new positron emission tomography (PET) based molecular diagnostic imaging technologies and systems. The first project under this agreement will involve the development of a PET synthesis system that will produce a new generation of targeted molecular radiopharmaceuticals.
“PET is a superb imaging technique for the early detection and diagnosis of diseases,” stated Joseph M. Hogan, President and CEO of GE Medical Systems. “We believe the development of these new diagnostic technologies will extend the utility of PET and help physicians to treat diseases earlier than is possible today.”
Current PET synthesis systems that interface with cyclotrons are capable of generating just one diagnostic pharmaceutical, usually 18-F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). The goal of this collaboration is to ultimately deliver a next-generation “chemistry lab” that can output a number of innovative PET diagnostics with high disease specificity.
“PET imaging promises rapid expansion with the introduction of new and innovative PET radiopharmaceuticals,” said Dr. John Padfield, Amersham Health's Chief Executive Officer. “As the global leader in radiopharmaceuticals, Amersham Health has all of the necessary scientific, supply chain and commercial expertise to bring a wide range of these new products through development and into the market, and when combined with GE Medical Systems’ expertise in PET cyclotrons, scanners and chemistry synthesis modules, will provide faster access to market with high quality PET radiopharmaceuticals and synthesis systems. These will be used for the diagnosis of a wide range of human diseases, including cancer and Parkinson’s Disease at an early stage.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control, cancer is the second leading cause of death; one in four deaths is related to cancer, while Parkinson’s Disease afflicts one in 100. Early detection, precise diagnosis and effective treatment of these diseases are the basis for researching new PET diagnostics. The first products to be developed through this new PET synthesis system will be high pharmaceutical quality FDG and F-DOPA, which is used to aid in the diagnosis and evaluation of Parkinson’s patients.
Amersham Health and GE Medical Systems are aggressively pursuing the development of non-invasive molecular imaging to detect and monitor disease with specific molecular markers. Amersham Health is the leader in diagnostic pharmaceutical research and development, and with this agreement is making a firm commitment to become the global leader in the PET radiopharmaceutical market. By working together, GE Medical Systems and Amersham Health hope to enable doctors to detect, diagnose and stage diseases earlier and more accurately so that they can provide their patients with the most effective treatments available.
“PET imaging provides metabolic and functional information about diseases that complements anatomical imaging such as CT, MRI or SPECT,” said Dr. William Clarke, Executive Vice President, Research and Development for Amersham Health. “It can help physicians provide earlier diagnosis of diseases and also provide rapid and quantitative assessment of a patient's response to therapy. Through our Imanet™ initiative, Amersham Health is working with leading pharmaceutical companies to identify the role that PET can play in the creation of novel diagnostic products that can complement new therapeutic drugs.”
“Our companies will take information learned from the mapping of the human genome to target early biomarkers of disease,” said Eric Stahre, General Manager of Genomics and Molecular Imaging at GE Medical Systems. “GE Medical Systems and Amersham are committed to bringing a number of new PET applications into clinical settings. This truly is the future of PET imaging and molecular diagnostic science.”
About Amersham Health
Amersham Health is the leading global pharmaceutical provider of diagnostic and predictive imaging products and services and related therapeutic products. Amersham Health is dedicated to providing healthcare professionals with products that expand and improve their diagnostic capabilities and contribute to the treatment of disease. Amersham Health is committed to finding innovative diagnostic and therapeutic solutions with a focus on cardiology, neurology and cancer.
Amersham plc, is a world leader in medical diagnostics and in life sciences. Headquartered in the UK, the company has annual sales of ₤1.4 billion (approximately US $2.1 billion) and around 9,000 employees worldwide. Its strategy is to build its position as a leading provider of products and technologies enabling disease to be better understood, diagnosed earlier and treated more effectively.
For additional information, visit the Amersham Health Web site at www.amershamhealth.com or the Amersham plc corporate Web site at www.amersham.com.
About GE Medical Systems GE Medical Systems 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 Medical Systems for high-quality medical technology, services and productivity solutions. For more information, visit the GE Medical Systems Web site at gemedical.com.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. Amersham and GE Medical Systems caution that there can be no assurance that actual results or conditions will not differ materially from those projected or suggested in such forward-looking statements based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the companies’ early stages of development, product developments risks, uncertainty of additional funding, competition, reliance on a few customers, and the companies’ abilities to protect their patents and proprietary rights and commercialize their products. Amersham and GE Medical Systems disclaim any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
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