GE Healthcare and Geron sign stem cell deal

GE Healthcare, a division of General Electric, and Geron Corporation are to collaborate on the development and commercialisation of cellular assay products derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).

UK-based GE Healthcare and Geron in California did not reveal the financial terms of the deal.

"In GE Healthcare we have found the ideal partner with whom to develop this near-term commercial opportunity," said David Earp, Geron's senior vice president of business development and chief patent counsel "There is much anticipation of the availability of hESC-derived cells for drug discovery applications within the pharmaceutical industry and we look forward to working closely with GE Healthcare to deliver these promising products."

Under the terms of the agreement, GE Healthcare has been granted an exclusive licence under Geron's extensive intellectual property portfolio covering the growth and differentiation of hESCs, as well as a sublicence under Geron's rights to the foundational hESC patents held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

GE Healthcare and Geron have agreed a multi-year alliance under which the two companies will work closely together to develop hESC-based products for drug discovery. The programme will use stem cells derived from hESC lines listed on the NIH Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Registry. GE Healthcare will fund the r&d and take responsibility for manufacturing, sales and distribution of products developed under the agreement.

Under the terms of the agreement, intellectual property rights arising from the alliance programme research will be shared, with GE Healthcare receiving rights for the development of drug discovery technologies, and Geron receiving rights for cell therapy applications.