GE rolls out a discount cancer imaging system for personalized medicine in India

Terri Bresenham--Courtesy of GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare ($GE) has developed a discount molecular imaging system for cancer detection, intended for physicians practicing personalized medicine in emerging markets--especially India, where the devicemaker got help designing the system.

The Indian pharma news outlet PharmaBiz reported the launch of Discover IQ, a positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) device designed to measure a patient's response to cancer treatment.

Developed over three years at a cost of 90 crore ($14.88 million), the Discover IQ is 40% more affordable than others on the market, Terri Bresenham, CEO of GE Healthcare South Asia, told PharmaBiz.

The Discover IQ PET-CT. GE says the device may look different if it is launched in the U.S.--Courtesy of GE

Emerging markets like India are becoming a priority for a handful of devicemakers, including Covidien ($COV), Smith & Nephew ($SNN) and Varian ($VAR).

GE's new device is designed to be paired with cyclotrons in advanced imaging centers that can treat the large numbers of cancer patients who don't respond to first-line chemotherapy. The total cost of setting up such a center in an Indian hospital is about 30 crore ($4.96 million), according to PharmaBiz. Indian nuclear medicine physicians and oncologists helped develop the new, lower-cost alternative, which comes alongside a "robust network of cyclotrons" developed by GE with the support of Indian entrepreneurs.

"We are extremely thankful to the Indian healthcare providers for their close collaboration and insights into their needs that has helped develop this important weapon against cancer," Bresenham told PharmaBiz.

- read PharmaBiz's report