GE Healthcare Life Sciences opened the initial set of buildings and labs on its new campus for growing businesses that will develop tools and technologies for the global life sciences industry. 

Based within GE Healthcare’s existing Maynard Centre Facility in Cardiff, the Innovation Village, the company’s first in the U.K., hopes to support emerging life science businesses and academic spin outs. GE Healthcare will help them explore their ambitions to reach global markets, advise them on scaling up manufacturing, and potentially partner with them on new innovations that tackle the challenges of health and biotechnology, according to a company spokesperson.

GE Healthcare is setting up the Innovation Village as part of its business-wide commitment to embedding a culture of collaboration in its operations, explained Kieran Murphy, president and CEO of GE Healthcare Life Sciences. The campus is backed by £367,000 from the Welsh Government’s Open Innovation program and European Regional Development Funds.

The first phase of the project is the establishment of a facility which will target businesses working in the life sciences tools and technology sector. Further project phases examining how the Innovation Village can grow are in development.

GE Healthcare will offer tenants a supported ecosystem for them to develop and commercialize products including access to state-of-the-art scientific and manufacturing equipment, process and supply chain expertise, a global distribution network and access to commercial services, continued Murphy. As they develop, the early stage businesses can also access advice from GE Healthcare on Lean, a way of eliminating waste from a manufacturing process, and Six Sigma, techniques for improving outputs.

The initial phase of the facility includes laboratories, meeting and office space with room for 12 businesses.

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