GE Healthcare Life Sciences to open biopharmaceutical Technology and Training Laboratory in Turkey

Supports Turkey’s ambitions to expand domestic biopharmaceutical industry
Laboratory to be a key component of GE’s new Innovation Center in Istanbul

Chalfont St. Giles, UK and Istanbul, Turkey – 14 November 2014 — GE Healthcare Life Sciences, a global tools, technologies and services provider in life science research and biopharmaceutical manufacturing, will open a Technology and Training Laboratory to support Turkey’s expanding biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. A key component of GE’s Turkey Innovation Center in Istanbul, the laboratory will open to customers, industry and academic partners from mid-2015. This adds to GE’s global network of biopharmaceutical customer training and technology facilities in the US, UK, China, India and Sweden.

The GE Healthcare Life Sciences Technology Laboratory will feature the company’s latest tools and technologies for drug discovery, protein science, and bioprocessing research. It will offer advanced technical training and technology evaluation to the Turkish biopharmaceutical sector, as well as being open to universities as a location for elements of biotechnology degree courses. Academics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology researchers will also have access to the laboratory for small scale research studies using the latest GE equipment, as will GE customers from the Middle East and Russia.

Turkey plans to expedite the transformation of its healthcare sector through domestic manufacturing of both devices and pharmaceuticals, with plans for local pharmaceutical manufacturing to represent 60% of the country’s consumption.

Highlighting the significance of the new facilities to the Turkish life sciences industry, Dr. Irem Yenice, Biotechnology Division Manager, Arven said, “The GE Healthcare Life Sciences Istanbul Technology and Training Laboratory is an excellent commitment to Turkey’s biotechnology goals, and will be very useful to Turkish research & development and industry. Connecting different scientific fields and helping to strengthen industrial applications, the laboratory could be an important support to growth and innovation in Turkey.”

Myra Eskes, GM, GE Healthcare Life Sciences Eastern & Africa Growth Markets said: “Our investment in the Istanbul Technology and Training Laboratory underscores GE’s commitment to supporting growth in life sciences and the biopharmaceutical industry in both Turkey and the region, complementing and strengthening academic and industry investments in biopharmaceutical research and manufacturing.”

About GE’s Turkey Innovation Center
The GE Turkey Innovation Center will be an interactive space where diverse ideas and people are encouraged, nurtured and connected to the wider innovation ecosystem across the country. The facility will have a strong focus on the Future of Work, with an Advanced Manufacturing lab, an in-depth look at the Industrial Internet, a dedicated Life Sciences Technology and Training lab, and content and resources to connect people around the globe.

About GE Healthcare
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.

SOURCE:  GE Healthcare