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GE to Speed Fight against Cancer, Starting with Breast Cancer
GE CEO and Chairman Jeff Immelt and several venture capital partners today announced a healthymagination open innovation Challenge to fund promising ideas to improve breast cancer diagnostics. To learn more about this initiative, visit www.healthymagination.com. Immelt also said that GE will invest $1 billion over the next five years on R&D programs to expand its suite of advanced technologies and solutions for cancer detection and treatment, beginning with breast cancer.
“We envision a day when cancer is no longer a deadly disease,” said Jeff Immelt, CEO and Chairman, GE. “When you add our cutting edge cancer detection technologies to the innovative ideas of our new partners, it’s a powerful formula for tackling cancer and helping doctors and researchers improve care.”
President & CEO, GE Australia & New Zealand, Steve Sargent said that if we can bring about even a one per cent reduction in the cancer death rate, every day one Australian family will be spared the loss of a loved one to cancer.
“Similarly, if we can work to reduce the cancer cost burden by even one per cent, Australia will save $190 million annually. The opportunity to work with government and the Australian research and healthcare community towards such outcomes is both exciting and humbling,” said Mr Sargent.
Professor John Boyages, Director at Westmead Breast Cancer Institute said, “One in nine Australian women will develop breast cancer before the age of 85 years and sadly, this affects not just the individual, but families, friends, colleagues and communities.
“To win our fight against breast cancer, we need more knowledge about the disease, we need widely accessible breast screening and personalised treatment options.
“The Westmead Breast Cancer Institute aims to offer women with breast cancer a ray of hope and has created an innovative, new and fully integrated care model to improve access and create a better quality patient experience. We are committed to delivering the best possible information, advice, treatment and care to patients with breast cancer and GE has been a valuable technology partner in helping us to achieve this goal and improve patient outcomes.
“An integrated screening and treatment program has led to a 35% reduction in breast cancer mortality in the West of Sydney which now has one of the lowest mortality rates in the world.
“Through commitments that span the entire patient journey like the one GE has made today, we’re making progress that can transform what it means to be diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Professor Boyages.
GE announced today a $100 million global open innovation challenge that seeks to identify and bring to market ideas that advance breast cancer diagnostics. The goal is to help health care professionals better understand tumors associated with triple negative cancer, a type of cancer that is less responsive to standard treatments and is typically more aggressive, as well as the molecular similarities between breast cancer and other solid tumors, improving early detection, allowing for more accurate diagnoses and ultimately helping doctors make the best possible treatment decisions based on each patient’s unique cancer.
The Challenge, open immediately for entries at www.healthymagination.com/challenge, was launched in collaboration with leading venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Venrock, Mohr Davidow and MPM Capital. The effort will also feature a special focus on data, in partnership with O’Reilly Media, whose CEO & founder, Tim O’Reilly is a preeminent advocate for using data science to spur innovation.
To learn more, visit www.healthymagination.com. Follow us on Twitter @GEaustralia or visit us on Facebook at facebook.com/healthymagination
