GE HealthCare finalizes purchase of radiopharma firm that generates $183M in revenue

GE HealthCare has finalized its acquisition of a radiopharmaceutical firm that generates $183 million in annual revenue, the company announced Monday. 

The Chicago-based manufacturer is buying the remaining 50% stake in Nihon Medi-Physics Co. (NMP), a Japanese developer of imaging agents used in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) exams. 

NMP’s product portfolio includes GE HealthCare radiopharmaceuticals delivered across neurology, cardiology and oncology. Among them are Vizamyl, used in Alzheimer’s treatment; DaTscan, for evaluating patients with suspected Parkinson’s or dementia; and Myoview, for assessing coronary artery disease. 

Following the closing, Kevin O’Neill, president and CEO of GE HealthCare’s pharmaceutical diagnostics division, will also become NMP president. 

“Japan is on a path to becoming a leader in the $7 billion molecular imaging global market and a center of excellence for Asian markets,” O’Neill said in a statement March 31. “As part of GE HealthCare, NMP will play a key role in that journey, including bringing its deep expertise and scale to global innovators looking to bring next-generation radiopharmaceuticals to the Japan market and beyond.”

Formed in 1973 and based in Tokyo, Nihon Medi-Physics operates 13 manufacturing facilities and conducts drug research and development. GE HealthCare previously held a 50% stake in NMP since acquiring Amersham plc in 2004.

The company first announced the acquisition in December and reiterated Monday that it expects the transaction to be neutral to adjusted earnings in the first year and accretive thereafter. 

Marty Stempniak

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. 

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