GE'S Perception of Convergence
Executive Summary
Although much smaller in scale, General Electric Co.'s $9.4 billion acquisition of Amersham PLC (now GE Healthcare's division GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences Inc.) [See Deal] early last year is every bit as radical in its space as Johnson & Johnson's $25.4 billion acquisition of Guidant Corp. is in the cardiovascular world. [See Deal] And while J&J's move highlights the decades-long consolidation movement in major medical device sectors, GE's actions illustrate another key trend: convergence. The Amersham purchase puts GE for first time in the life sciences industry and has a systems-oriented, engineering company talking about intangible, biology-focused strategies like personalized medicine.
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GE Healthcare's joint research collaboration with Eli Lilly is small and easy to miss. It's very early stage and doesn't involve money exchanging hands. But it's the first manifestation of GE's efforts to expand its relationships with pharma companies following its acquisition of Amersham PLC. GE will comb Lilly's extensive molecular libraries for targets that could help diagnose Alzheimer's disease earlier. GE could turn these targets into imaging agents. Lilly is eager for tools to help diagnose and manage Alzheimer's disease because it has several Alzheimer's drugs in development.
GE's Pharma Ambitions Lead to a Lilly Deal
GE Healthcare's joint research collaboration with Eli Lilly is small and easy to miss. It's very early stage and doesn't involve money exchanging hands. But it's the first manifestation of GE's efforts to expand its relationships with pharma companies following its acquisition of Amersham PLC. GE will comb Lilly's extensive molecular libraries for targets that could help diagnose Alzheimer's disease earlier. GE could turn these targets into imaging agents. Lilly is eager for tools to help diagnose and manage Alzheimer's disease because it has several Alzheimer's drugs in development.