GE Healthcare partners with genomics institute

Waukesha, Wis. - GE Healthcare, the $15 billion unit of General Electric Company, will provide the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), a not-for-profit research institute based in Phoenix, Ariz., with advanced imaging equipment for drug discovery and development.

The alliance is designed to apply advanced cellular genomics technologies to accelerate research in translational genomics, a field that applies knowledge from the Human Genome Project to the development of diagnostics, prognostics, and therapies for cancer, neurological disorders, and diabetes.

TGen scientists will use the imaging systems to functionally analyze the genome to identify and characterize cancer-associated genes that can be used to help develop targeted medicines.

"This collaboration could result in a better understanding of the biological mechanisms involved in oncology, many of which are not currently well understood by the medical community," Spyro Mousses, director of pharmaceutical genomics and cancer drug development for TGen, said in a statement.

Mousses also said the imaging systems provided by GE will allow TGen to observe cellular morphology more clearly and perform cytometry at an unprecedented rate. Most importantly, the institute's researchers will more accurately collect information about how cells respond to specific genetic "perturbations" and specific drug exposures. "This gives our researchers a better view of complex processes involved in regulating drug response in cancer cells," he stated.

GE Healthcare's IN Cell Analyzer imaging systems are used by researchers in pharmaceutical and academic labs to analyze a variety of cellular processes in disease definition and drug development.

EMR sale

In a related story, GE Healthcare announced today that HealthSpring, a Nashville-based managed care network with 4,000 primary care physicians, has selected GE's Centricity Practice electronic medical record (EMR) solution for its new health center initiative.

The initiative is designed to encourage physicians to collaborate and establish community-based health centers. HealthSpring, focused on the Medicare-eligible population in a five-state service area, expects to implement the solution this fall in its first health center.

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