GE Healthcare Awarded Contract to Design New Plant-Based Biopharmaceutical Facility in Brazil

GE Healthcare and iBio Inc. have signed a contract under which GE Healthcare will design a new plant-based multipurpose manufacturing facility for Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz in Brazil. The design project is the first contract for the global alliance between GE Healthcare and iBio, which was announced in 2012.

The alliance combines iBio’s plant-based manufacturing platform, iBioLaunch with GE Healthcare’s capabilities in process design and biopharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing technologies. Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz is a manufacturer of immunobiologicals for public health needs, primarily to support programs of the Brazilian Ministry of Health. It has invested in the development of bioprocess technologies, such as iBioLaunch, through a codevelopment agreement with iBio and its research and development collaborator the Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology, which will continue to play a role in advancing iBioLaunch. The iBioLaunch platform is a proprietary technology for the development and production of biologics using transient gene expression in unmodified green plants.