Call open for upstream and downstream bioprocess projects to be based at Bioprocessing Technology and Training Laboratory at GE’s Turkey Innovation Center in TeknoPark
CHALFONT ST. GILES, UK and ISTANBUL, TURKEY – 29 March 2016 – GE Healthcare’s Life Sciences business has officially launched a new research scheme to help foster Turkish bioprocessing development and manufacturing, through its latest Fast Trak Bioprocessing Technology and Training Laboratory in Istanbul. Based in GE’s Turkey Innovation Center, the R&D Laboratory is well-located to support the region’s rapidly growing biopharmaceutical and biotech industry, and help position Turkey as a global R&D and manufacturing hub.
The collaborative research scheme was launched on 24 March at the inauguration of the Laboratory with the participation of Professor Hasan Ali Çelik, the Deputy Minister of Science, Industry and Technology, Myra Eskes, General Manager, GE Healthcare’s Life Sciences business, Eastern & Africa Growth Markets and Canan M. Özsoy, President & CEO, GE Turkey.
Turkey has Europe’s sixth largest pharmaceutical industry and is poised to become a significant player in the global biopharmaceutical market1. The country’s vision for its healthcare industry includes a bold strategy by Turkey’s Scientific and Technological Research Council (TüBITAK@) to support R&D and address skills shortages through a range of grant schemes and industry-academia collaborations. GE’s research scheme sits within this framework by offering support for academic collaborations through access to its new technology and training facility.
The Laboratory is equipped with GE’s innovative bioprocessing and research technologies, and supported by a team of local GE bioprocessing experts to help build up local biomanufacturing skills and expertise in Turkey. The facility is already available to customers in the region for hands-on practical training and process development through GE’s Fast Trak training programme, and will now be made available to successful applicants from universities and research institutions to support their research projects.
At the inauguration, Professor Hasan Ali Çelik, Deputy Minister of Science, Industry and Technology, said: “The share of high-tech products in our exports is around 3-4 percent. We should increase this ratio to the level of 15 percent. For this purpose, we should focus on increasing the added value work in the well-established sectors and we need to take serious steps in new-generation sectors. In this respect, the pharmaceutical industry stands out here as a critical sector. In particular, the level which we are in gene technology, has been indicating that the 21st century can be defined as ‘century of biotechnology’.
“We want to increase the effectiveness of our country in the field of biotechnology and in the pharmaceutical sector as well. We think the Life Sciences Technology and Training Laboratory which we inaugurated today, would be conductive to very good developments in this regard. We believe, the products which will be developed in this laboratory will provide significant contribution to Turkey’s economy and offer important services to humanity. On this occasion, I thank GE for bringing this laboratory to our country.”
Myra Eskes, General Manager, GE Healthcare’s Life Sciences business, Eastern & Africa Growth Markets, said: “We are proud to provide a start-to-finish offering for the global bioprocessing industry, from expert support for early process development through to construction of a KUBio™ modular facility for full scale manufacturing. Our local customers will now be able to upskill their workforce, access innovative bioprocess technologies, and support their process development and manufacturing while establishing their own capabilities in-house.”
1. The Pharmaceutical Industry in Turkey, Deloitte report, March 2014 http://www.invest.gov.tr/en-US/infocenter/publications/Documents/PHARMACEUTICAL.INDUSTRY.pdf.
About GE’s Turkey Innovation Center
The GE Turkey Innovation Center is an interactive space where diverse ideas and people are encouraged, nurtured and connected to the wider innovation ecosystem across the country. The Center has 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
About Fast Trak
The GE Healthcare Life Sciences Technology Laboratory in Turkey becomes the latest Fast Trak training facility, joining the US, UK, China, India and Sweden, in offering access to the company’s innovative tools and technologies for drug discovery, protein science, and bioprocessing research. Advanced technical training, technology evaluation as well as process development and scale-up studies are provided for the biopharmaceutical industry and universities across the region.
