Sartorius and GE Healthcare announce cross-licensing deal

Sartorius has signed a new patent cross-licensing agreement with GE Healthcare that is intended to strengthen the future pipelines of both companies.

The arrangement will allow the two firms to utilise each other's intellectual property in the future development of its current and future biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies.

Under the terms of the deal, Sartorius Stedim Biotech will grant GE Healthcare Life Sciences the rights to bioreactor technology for use in monitoring biotechnological manufacturing, in exchange for access to patents relating to bioprocessing solutions transfer innovations.

Reinhard Vogt, executive vice-president of marketing, sales and services at Sartorius Stedim Biotech, said this agreement will ultimately benefit customers of both companies.

"The agreement will enable both our companies to provide a greater selection of products, as well as accelerate the development of new and innovative technologies for applications in the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry," he said.

In July 2011, Sartorius published its financial results for the first half of 2011, during which it experienced a double-digit year-on-year increase in sales.