GE Healthcare to build digital factories through team-up

Manufacturer GE Healthcare is partnering with industrial automation provider Rockwell Automation to create adaptable manufacturing facilities for biopharmaceutical companies.

The two companies will combine their automation, IT and single-use solution expertise to help biopharmaceutical companies build scalable facilities focused on rapid response to market demands, streamlined production technologies and adaptable manufacturing environments.

In particular, the companies will offer bioprocess automation, digitised batch files and processes to reduce review times and augmented reality (AR) instruction for workers to help improve batch operations.

Kevin Seaver, executive general manager, Bioprocess Automation and Digital, GE Healthcare, said: “As GE Healthcare and the healthcare ecosystem move toward precision health, flexible and scalable solutions are critical for companies to efficiently manufacture smaller batches of tailored medicines. Our collaboration with Rockwell Automation is an integral part of our strategy to confirm we deliver innovative solutions that meet the needs of the biopharma 4.0 era.”

Fran Wlodarczyk, senior vice president, Architecture and Software, Rockwell Automation said: “Our collaboration with GE Healthcare will help make bioprocessing operations more agile. The facility of the future reimagines what’s possible in production of biopharmaceuticals. It uses connectivity, information, and modular equipment to create smaller-scale, more efficient operations. As GE Healthcare becomes a member of our PartnerNetwork program, our joint work will help GE Healthcare bring the Connected Enterprise to life, so they can meet demands for more targeted drugs and get products to market faster.”