GE Healthcare Life Sciences Opens Technology Laboratory at UK’s Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst

Staffed by technical specialists, the new 1000 sq ft laboratory will allow GE Healthcare’s UK and European customers to evaluate the company’s technologies as well as benefit from the advanced technical training facilities. The facility will also be open to researchers who are based at Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, and makes GE Healthcare a significant new part of the open innovation network at the Stevenage campus. This use of GE technologies in an active multi-disciplinary scientific environment will help the company drive the development of new innovations and technologies for life sciences research.

Co-located with GlaxoSmithKline on the Stevenage campus, SBC is a joint venture between the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills, GlaxoSmithKline, the Wellcome Trust and the Technology Strategy Board.

Highlighting the significance of the new laboratory, Dr. Martino Picardo, CEO Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst said, “The opening of the GE Healthcare Life Sciences Technology Laboratory here at Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst is an exciting development for us, providing a state-of-the-art facility for use by our tenants, partners and GE. We are delighted to welcome the company, with its expertise in technology development and commitment to open innovation, to the fast-growing Stevenage campus, and believe the new facility is a great boost to our interest in cell technologies.”

Guests at the opening ceremony included representatives from Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, GE Healthcare, the Cell Therapy Catapult and other life sciences organisations. Mr. Kieran Murphy, CEO of GE Healthcare Life Sciences, welcomed the guests on a tour of the new facilities.

Speaking at the event, Kieran Murphy said, “Many of the future advances in medicine will be driven by advances in our understanding of cellular mechanisms at the molecular level. I’m delighted that our new laboratory is at the heart of Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, where we can both demonstrate our latest thinking in technology to the life sciences research community, and share knowledge that will help shape future innovation. ”

The new laboratory will house a wide range of technologies, including Xcellerex™ tools for biomanufacturing, Wave™ for cell culture, IN Cell 6000 for high content cell analysis, AKTA™ Avant for protein purification and Biacore™ for protein interaction studies.

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services to meet the demand for increased access, enhanced quality and more affordable healthcare around the world. GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter - great people and technologies taking on tough challenges. From medical imaging, software & IT, patient monitoring and diagnostics to drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and performance improvement solutions, GE Healthcare helps medical professionals deliver great healthcare to their patients. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.

Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst is the UK’s first open innovation bioscience campus, pioneering a unique culture to drive early stage bioscience technology and company development, and building a thriving community. It is backed by £38m of funding from its founding partners – GlaxoSmithKline, the Wellcome Trust, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Technology Strategy Board and the former East of England Development Agency. Consisting of an Incubator, an Accelerator and a Hub, covering 60,000 sq ft of laboratory, office and networking space, the independent facility houses a range of companies, from virtual and start-up firms to those which are more established, as well as other organisations. Co-located with GlaxoSmithKline on the Stevenage campus, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst is in the unique position of operating in proximity to the expertise and resources of a major pharmaceutical company, close to both London and Cambridge. For more information, please go to www.stevenagecatalyst.com.