GE Healthcare Announces Major Research Collaboration to Identify Diagnostic Biosignatures in Early Alzheimer's Disease Detection

PRINCETON, N.J., Dec. 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- GE Healthcare announced today a research agreement to collaborate with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, L.L.C. (Janssen) to identify a biosignature related to Alzheimer's disease.  This research effort will combine expertise in data integration, informatics, genomics and imaging.  Its goal will be to find a biosignature that may enable the detection of Alzheimer's disease before the onset of clinical symptoms.  The collaboration is part of a broad portfolio of diagnostic solutions that GE Healthcare is developing in the Alzheimer's field.    

"GE Healthcare has a global commitment to advancing clinical knowledge and providing innovations that may accelerate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and transform patient management," said Pascale Witz, President and CEO, GE Healthcare, Medical Diagnostics.  "The collaboration we are announcing today is part of this effort to understand Alzheimer's.  Finding a biosignature, essentially a collection of biomarkers, that identifies people at risk from the disease, would enable physicians to make more informed decisions about patient care.  Importantly, it might also accelerate the development of successful treatments for the disease."

Phase 3 trials are underway for GE Healthcare's amyloid PET imaging compound Flutemetamol.

According to the Alzheimer's Association, deaths attributed to the disease have increased by more than 46% between 2000 and 2006.  Today, in the US alone, 5.3 million people have Alzheimer's disease, and the annual cost of the disease is $172 billion.  It is the 6th leading cause of death, and its mortality rates are expected to rise as the baby boomer population ages.  In last year's World Alzheimer Report, Alzheimer's Disease International estimated that there are 35.6 million people living with dementia worldwide in 2010, increasing to 65.7 million by 2030 and 115.4 million by 2050.

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.

For our latest news, please visit http://newsroom.gehealthcare.com

SOURCE GE Healthcare

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