GE Healthcare completes Xcellerex acquisition

GE Healthcare has completed its acquisition of Xcellerex, a provider of manufacturing technologies for the biopharmaceutical industry.

The company has purchased Xcellerex due to its established expertise and reputation in technologies for this industry, which have been identified as offering a strong strategic fit with GE Healthcare's existing offerings.

Specifically, the deal will allow GE Healthcare to expand its portfolio of recombinant proteins, antibodies and vaccines, a key area of growth for the business, while bolstering its capabilities in product development and marketing.

It is hoped that the combination of the two businesses will help pharmaceutical manufacturers to increase production flexibility and to deliver higher yields, while also reducing time to market.

Dr Nigel Darby, vice-president of biotechnologies and chief technology officer at GE Healthcare Life Sciences, said: "We believe that combining the skills of the two companies will bring great benefits for our customers in the industry."

Last month, the company reported positive data from a trial of flutemetamol, a PET amyloid imaging agent for use in diagnosing Alzheimer's disease.