GE Healthcare has signed an agreement to design a new plant-based multipurpose manufacturing facility for Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz in Brazil.
This is the first contract for the global alliance between GE Healthcare, the Buckinghamshire-based subsidiary of General Electric, and iBio, announced in July 2012.
It will combine iBioLaunch, iBio’s plant-based manufacturing platform, with GE Healthcare’s technological capabilities for biopharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing, building further on an existing development and marketing agreed in 2010.
Olivier Loeillot, General Manager of Enterprise Solutions at GE Healthcare said: “Vaccines are vital in the fight against global disease and we’re pleased to be working with Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz on this important project.”
“By working closely with the team at Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz we will together design a state-of-the-art, technologically-advanced facility that’s ready to meet the vaccine needs of tomorrow,” he added.
Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz is a manufacturer of immunobiologicals for public health needs, primarily to support Brazilian Ministry of Health programmes.
It has invested in iBioLaunch through a co-development agreement with iBio and its research and development collaborator Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology (FCMB), which will continue to play a key role in advancing the iBioLaunch platform.
Artur Couto, Director of Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz, added: “The agreement with GE Healthcare is important because it will allow us to build a new facility based on a very innovative platform and address an important need of the Brazilian Ministry of Health.”
