GE's New Diagnostic Imaging Agent - Analyst Blog

GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company (GE), has developed a new radiopharmaceutical agent, called DaTscan (Ioflupane I 123 Injection), which has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This is the first diagnostic imaging agent to be used for detecting dopamine transporters (DaT) in patients allegedly with Parkinsonian syndromes (PS).

DaTscan will aid physicians in the assessment of neurodegenerative movement disorders and will distinguish Parkinsonian Syndromes from indispensable tremor. However, DaTscan is insufficient in discriminating the different types of PS.

The two Phase III results on DaTscan, on which the FDA's approval had been based, revealed that DaTscan was efficient in the visualization of DaT within an interior part of the brain, called striata. General Electric believes that the new solution will help patients to manage the disease more efficiently.

General Electric has one of the best infrastructure franchises worldwide with solid organic growth rates, exposure to favorable secular trends and a large installed base supporting a growing annuity-like service business. Infrastructure businesses of the company are helping to build energy, health, transportation and technology infrastructure of the new century.

GE Healthcare has expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, disease research, drug discovery and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies.

General Electric, however, operates in a highly competitive climate, characterized by changing technology that requires continuing research and development. The company remains focused on product leadership, expanding its core technologies, and creating a lower cost position.  During the third quarter of 2010, General Electric invested above 5% of its industrial revenue into R&D, surging 21% year over year.

However, the company's global expansion is subject to economic and political risks pertaining to diverse operating geographies.

Operating in more than 100 countries globally and employing about 300,000 people worldwide, General Electric Co. is a diversified infrastructure, finance and media company.  Major competitors of GE Healthcare are Siemens Healthcare, the medical products division of Siemens AG (SI), and Philips Healthcare, a group company of Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (PHG).

We currently maintain our Neutral rating on General Electric, with a Zacks #3 Rank (short-term Hold recommendation) over the next one-to-three months.

 
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