GE Healthcare has inked a new joint venture partnership with an eye toward broadening access to imaging in an emerging market.
The Chicago-headquartered medical technology company is teaming with a subsidiary of Sinopharm, China’s state-owned drugmaker, to fuel growth overseas. GE’s new partnership will initially focus on providing CT and ultrasound imaging solutions to rural geographies and primary care providers, according to a Feb. 24 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
“In line with GE HealthCare’s business strategy to grow in emerging markets with a local approach tailored to customer needs, the purpose of the new joint venture is to develop, manufacture, and commercialize medical equipment to address the growing needs of China’s healthcare market,” the company wrote, adding that the product scope may expand as the joint venture develops.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the pact is still subject to regulatory approval in China. This is the not the first time the two companies have collaborated. GE and Sinopharm previously partnered beginning in the early 1990s in an agreement that led to the creation of imaging manufacturer Hangwei, Fierce Biotech reported Monday.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.