GE Healthcare launches modular biopharmaceutical factory, KUBio

Press release:

04 September 2012

GE Healthcare launches modular biopharmaceutical factory, KUBio

 

Innovative approach will save biopharmaceutical manufacturers time and money

Chalfont St Giles, UK – 4 September 2012 – GE Healthcare, the healthcare business of GE (NYSE: GE), today introduced KUBio^TM, an innovative off-the-shelf, modular factory designed to save manufacturers of biopharmaceuticals both time and money. KUBio’s pre-made modules, which are assembled at a customer’s chosen site to make a fully functional ready-to-run bioprocessing facility, are significantly faster to install than constructing a traditional factory. The modules are equipped with GE Healthcare’s world-class technologies for the start-to-finish manufacture of biopharmaceuticals.

Worldwide demand for biopharmaceuticals - such as antibodies for the treatment of cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as the new generation of innovative vaccines - is increasing dramatically, driven by the global ageing population, rising obesity levels and the global effort to reduce the incidence of vaccine preventable diseases. KUBio will help manufacturers to respond to local healthcare needs and bring these potentially life-saving treatments to market more quickly.

KUBio is a fully functional off-the-shelf bioprocessing facility specifically designed to meet cGMP requirements while optimizing manufacturing flexibility and productivity. The 1200m² facility is pre-fabricated and delivered with a complete ready-to-use production line, based on GE Healthcare’s Ready-to-Process^TM single-use technologies. With a total planning, delivery and construction time of 14-18 months, compared to the traditional 24 -36 months, both time-to-market and level of capital investment are significantly reduced. The first modular facilities to be introduced will be configured for the manufacture of monoclonal antibodies. GE Healthcare also plans to introduce modules for the manufacture of other biopharmaceuticals.

“KUBio is a totally new approach to the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals, bringing our customers a greatly simplified way to build their production capacity,” said Olivier Loeillot, General Manager of Enterprise Solutions, GE Healthcare Life Sciences. “With KUBio our customers will be able to cut months off the typical construction time, and greatly streamline the whole construction process. We’re already seeing interest from a wide range of customers, from governments wanting to develop in-country manufacturing capability right through to pharmaceutical companies wanting to expand production capacity in new locations. KUBio is an industry game-changer that will help them do just that.”

The introduction of KUBio expands GE Healthcare’s broad offering of world-class tools, technologies and services for the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry, allowing customers to benefit from a wide range of solutions that can be tailored to meet specific needs, from pilot to commercial scale. GE Healthcare’s start-to-finish technologies and services include Fast Trak training, PAA cell culture media, ReadyToProcess single use technologies, specialist purification media and Xcellerex biomanufacturing systems. KUBio aligns with GE’s healthymagination initiative which focuses on reducing cost, increasing access and improving quality in healthcare.

To see a video of KUBio click here

About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.

Our “healthymagination” vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employees are committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries.  For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.

For our latest news, please visithttp://newsroom.gehealthcare.com/http://newsroom.gehealthcare.com

News Release from Dell

Dell Trade-in Program Helps EMC and NetApp Customers Move to Efficient, Flexible, Easy-to-Manage Storage Environments

• Print
• Email
• RSS Feed
• Rate

  1 out of 5

  2 out of 5

  3 out of 5

  4 out of 5

  5 out of 5

Date : 3/14/2012

Round Rock, Texas

• EMC and NetApp customers can upgrade to Dell storage systems with Fluid Data™ architecture designed to constantly adapt to changing business requirements
• Flexible financing program and incentives help ease transition from legacy data centers to dynamic infrastructures that are scalable and help deliver results quickly
• Former EMC customer AccuWeather realizes the benefits of Dell’s end-to-end solution that unifies management, shares capabilities, and delights end users with expert services and support

Join the conversation.

Dell today announced a new financing program to support customers migrating from EMC and NetApp legacy storage products to Dell storage arrays. 

The new Dell Storage Swap program provides cash credits and attractive lease terms for customers retiring EMC CLARiiON CX, Celerra and VNX, and various NetApp FAS systems and upgrading to new Dell Compellent andEqualLogic virtualized, modular storage arrays. Dell simplifies the transition for customers by offering specialized migration services, award-winning ProSupport™ and Copilot support and other financial incentives such as Dell Financial Services leasing options. In keeping with its longstanding commitment to green initiatives, Dell will provide safe and environmentally responsible disposal of the obsolete and retired IT equipment.

The Dell Storage Swap program is available to all customers and Dell PartnerDirect resellers in the U.S. and Canada, now through July 31, 2012. 

Customer Boosts Performance and Cuts Costs after Moving to Dell Customers transitioning to Dell storage solutions can increase automation and help reduce cost of ownership by leveraging modern technologies such as automated tiering, thin provisioning, advanced virtualization and embedded system intelligence. A number of organizations are leaving their legacy IP behind and upgrading to the Dell Fluid Data architecture, delivering innovation and cost savings quickly to end users in the process. Dell end-to-end enterprise solutions help enable customers to better support their organization and deliver to the speed, efficiency and resiliency required in a rapidly changing world. 

Due to its ease of installation and low cost, AccuWeather, The World’s Weather Authority®, purchased Dell EqualLogic PS arrays and PowerEdge blade servers. The Dell infrastructure enables AccuWeather to service rapidly growing worldwide consumer demand because it can deliver weather information up to four to six times faster than the previous solution. Utilizing Dell technology has enabled AccuWeather to spend up to 80 percent less time on storage administration and save up to five figures a year by eliminating calls to external storage experts; the company has also cut energy costs by up to 50 percent per Dell server blade and significantly reduced space requirements. 

“With Dell’s flexible, user friendly data center solutions in place, we’ve been able to deliver innovative technologies and applications to better connect with our customers and optimize their experience,” said Steven Smith, CIO of AccuWeather, Inc. “Dell enterprise technology has enabled us to spend less time on maintenance and more of our resources on developing new, more personalized solutions for our customers, as well as exploring new markets to expand our business.”

Additional Quotes:“The Storage Swap program enables customers to easily migrate to Compellent and EqualLogic and quickly gain better optimization and efficiency,” said Darren Thomas, vice president and general manager, Dell Enterprise Storage. “Dell’s strategy of delivering integrated end-to-end data center solutions makes it easier for customers to achieve greater efficiency, free themselves from legacy IP and cut cost and risk as they move their business forward.” 

“To handle today’s massive data growth while controlling costs, organizations need to store more information on less hardware,” said Cheryl Cook, vice president, Dell Enterprise Solutions. “Putting intelligence and automation into their IT environment allow customers to only buy what they need today and capitalize on improved efficiency and lowered costs as they grow.”

Small Modular Reactors

News release from the DOE

Energy Department Announces Small Modular Reactor Technology Partnerships at Savannah River Site

March 2, 2012 - 10:27am

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Energy Department and its Savannah River Site (SRS) announced today three public-private partnerships to develop deployment plans for small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) technologies at SRS facilities, near Aiken, South Carolina. As part of the Energy Department’s commitment to advancing the next generation of nuclear reactor technologies and breaking down the technical and economic barriers to deployment, these Memorandums of Agreement (MOA) will help leverage Savannah River’s land assets, energy facilities and nuclear expertise to support potential private sector development, testing and licensing of prototype SMR technologies.

The Energy Department, Savannah River Site and Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) have entered into three separate agreements with Hyperion Power Generation Inc.; SMR, LLC, a subsidiary of Holtec International; and NuScale Power, LLC. The agreements will help these private companies obtain information on potential SMR reactor siting at Savannah River and provide a framework for developing land use and site services agreements to further these efforts.

“The Obama Administration continues to believe that low-carbon nuclear energy has an important role to play in America’s energy future,” said Secretary Chu.  “We are committed to restarting the nation’s nuclear industry and advancing the next generation of these technologies, helping to create new jobs and export opportunities for American workers and businesses.”

The Energy Department has taken a number of steps to help jumpstart America’s nuclear industry and ensure that nuclear power continues to play an important role in the U.S. energy mix. As part of these efforts, the Department has worked to advance small modular reactors, which provide an important opportunity for America’s manufacturing sector to make and sell cutting-edge technology. Small modular reactors have the added advantage of passive safety systems, compact and scalable design and lower capital costs.

“We have a unique combination of nuclear knowledge and laboratory expertise, infrastructure, location and much more to make the Site a natural fit for advancing the small modular reactor technology,” said Dr. Dave Moody, DOE-SR Manager. “We are about reinvigorating SRS assets to impact national needs and influence new missions for the future of the Savannah River Site.”

By strengthening information sharing and access to site facilities and technical expertise, these MOAs will help break down engineering and testing barriers to advanced nuclear reactor research and development while providing these nuclear companies with the resources to support effective deployment plans.
Today’s announcement builds on the Energy Department’s work to develop nuclear power as a vital part of America’s all-of-the-above energy strategy:

·         The Energy Department announced $10 million in new research funds earlier this month to solve common challenges across the nuclear industry and improve reactor safety, performance and cost competitiveness.
·         In 2010, the Department signed a conditional commitment for $8 billion in loan guarantees to support the Vogtle project, where the Southern Company and Georgia Power are building two new nuclear reactors, helping to create new jobs and export opportunities for American workers and businesses.
·         The Energy Department has also supported the Vogtle project and the development of the next generation of nuclear reactors by providing more than $200 million through a cost-share agreement to support the licensing reviews for Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactor design certification.  The Vogtle license is the first for new nuclear power plant construction in more than three decades.
·         Promoting a sustainable nuclear industry in the U.S. also requires cultivating the next generation of scientists and engineers. Over the past three years, the Department has invested $170 million in research grants at more than 70 universities, supporting R&D into a full spectrum of technologies, from advanced reactor concepts to enhanced safety design.

The Memorandums of Agreement announced today do not constitute a federal funding commitment. The Energy Department envisions private sector funding will be used to develop these technologies and support deployment plans. The agreements, and the officials and offices involved with these activities, are separate and distinct from the Energy Department’s Funding Opportunity Announcement for small modular reactor cost-share projects announced earlier this year.

Energy Department Spurs Small Modular Nuclear Reactors

News release from the U.S. Dept. of Energy:

Energy Department Takes First Step to Spur U.S. Manufacturing of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors

January 20, 2012 

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the first step toward manufacturing small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) in the United States, demonstrating the Administration’s commitment to advancing U.S. manufacturing leadership in low-carbon, next generation energy technologies and restarting the nation’s nuclear industry.  Through the draft Funding Opportunity Announcement announced today, the Department will establish cost-shared agreements with private industry to support the design and licensing of SMRs.

“America’s choice is clear - we can either develop the next generation of clean energy technologies, which will help create thousands of new jobs and export opportunities here in America, or we can wait for other countries to take the lead,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “The funding opportunity announced today is a significant step forward in designing, manufacturing, and exporting U.S. small modular reactors, advancing our competitive edge in the global clean energy race.”

Small modular reactors, approximately one-third the size of current nuclear plants, have compact designs that are expected to offer a host of safety, siting, construction and economic benefits. Specifically, they could be made in factories and transported to sites where they would be ready to “plug and play” upon arrival, reducing both capital costs and construction times. The small size also makes SMRs ideal for small electric grids and for locations that cannot support large reactors, providing utilities with the flexibility to scale production as demand changes.

The draft Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) announced today solicits input from industry in advance of a full FOA, which will support first-of-a-kind engineering, design certification and licensing through a cost-shared partnership. The full FOA will fund up to two SMR designs with the goal of deploying these reactors by 2022.

Today’s announcement comes on the heels of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s certification of Westinghouse Electric’s AP1000 nuclear reactor design, which was supported through a cost-shared agreement with the Energy Department. The Department’s efforts, in coordination with the NRC and private industry, have helped American companies lead the way in obtaining certification and licensing approvals for new reactor designs, which will further streamline these processes for future investments in the U.S. nuclear industry.

For more information on SMRs, please visit the Office of Nuclear Energy website.