Karolinska
University Hospital Sweden and GE
Healthcare Life Sciences today announced a joint research
collaboration to drive advances in technologies and workflows for use in
the rapidly emerging field of cell therapy. The three year collaboration
will combine Karolinska University Hospital’s world-class clinical
expertise in cell therapy with GE Healthcare’s industry-leading
capabilities in cell biology and in technologies for the manufacture of biotherapeutics.
GE Healthcare's Centre of Excellence for Cell Biology in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo: Business Wire
Cell therapy, the use of cells to replace damaged tissue or to treat
disease, shows great promise for the treatment of many life-threatening
and life-limiting illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, Parkinson’s
and age-related macular degeneration. There is enormous interest in the
potential health benefits of cell therapy, with more than 500 studies
worldwide currently at the clinical experimental phase. Karolinska
University Hospital is leading several pioneering cell therapy trials
for the treatment of cancer as well as neurological and metabolic
disorders. GE Healthcare Life Sciences has over 30 years’ experience in
developing technologies for the manufacture of biotherapeutics. The
company also has a pioneering research program aimed at developing new
technologies that will help enable the new era of cell therapy.
The goal of the collaboration is to explore and advance future
technology and workflow needs for cell therapy in a clinical setting.
Before cell therapy can be used as a routine treatment, there are a
number of significant technological and regulatory challenges that need
to be addressed. Routine cell therapy will require new technologies to
grow, handle, process and analyze cells, as well as the development of
robust, reproducible and standardized protocols and workflows for
manufacturing and quality control. Karolinska University Hospital and GE
Healthcare will work together to identify what is needed to make this a
reality. The research will be coordinated by Pontus Blomberg from the
Karolinska University Hospital in conjunction with scientists and
bio-engineers from GE Healthcare Life Sciences.
Welcoming the collaboration, Professor Johan Permert, Director for
Development and Innovation, Karolinska University Hospital said, "Our
expectation from this exciting and innovative collaboration is to solve
problems that hinder cell therapies from becoming an established
treatment. By involving not only researchers and industry partners but
also the public healthcare system, we are aiming to develop methods and
tools that accelerate the implementation of cell therapies into standard
treatment. In addition, this collaboration is a first initiative to
develop enhanced interaction between Karolinska University Hospital and
industry, which will lead to improved care chains.”
Dr. Amr Abid, General Manager Cell Technologies, GE Healthcare Life
Sciences said, "Cell therapy offers the hope that one day there will be
treatments for diseases for which today there is no cure. Our vision at
GE Healthcare is to help make that hope reality for patients and doctors
by developing the technologies and workflows that will help bring cell
therapy to the clinic. These are big challenges which will only be
overcome by working hand-in-hand with the world’s foremost experts in
clinical cell therapy, which is why we’re delighted to be working with
the world-class cell therapy team at Karolinska.”
About Karolinska University Hospital
Karolinska University Hospital is one of Scandinavia’s premier health
facilities and one of Europe´s largest teaching hospitals.. Our services
encompass health care for disorders ranging from major public health
diseases to rare medical conditions. In the Stockholm region, we are a
designated provider of highly specialized medical services. We also
serve many patients from other parts of Sweden and from other countries
around the world. As the county council´s teaching hospital, Karolinska
University Hospital has a primary responsibility for the clinical
components of research and education. Together with the world-respected
Karolinska Institute, we lead in medical breakthroughs in Sweden. We
believe that patient care, research, and education must all play equally
strong roles in our effort to extend and enhance people’s lives. As a
major teaching hospital we educate and train tomorrow’s medical
specialists and healthcare professionals.
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and
services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise
in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics,
patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical
manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance
solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more
people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with
healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change
necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare
systems. Our "healthymagination” vision for the future invites the world
to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused
on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality around the
world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a unit of
General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employees
are committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in
more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit
our website at www.gehealthcare.com.
Follow GE Healthcare on twitter: @GEHealthcare
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