GE Healthcare and Rockwell Automation announced last week that they are combining their automation, IT and single-use solution expertise to build digital tools for bioprocessing operations. The two companies will work together to help biopharmaceutical companies create flexible and scalable facilities of the future, focused on rapid response to market demands, streamlined production technologies and adaptable manufacturing environments, said a joint press release.
GE Healthcare has also joined the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork Program as an OEM Partner to help drive a distributed control system offering.
“Our collaboration with GE Healthcare will help make bioprocessing operations more agile,” said Fran Wlodarczyk, senior vice president, Architecture and Software, Rockwell Automation. “The facility of the future reimagines what’s possible in production of biopharmaceuticals. It uses connectivity, information, and modular equipment to create smaller-scale, more efficient operations. As GE Healthcare becomes a member of our PartnerNetwork program, our joint work will help GE Healthcare bring the Connected Enterprise to life, so they can meet demands for more targeted drugs and get products to market faster.”
The collaboration with GE Healthcare follows another deal Rockwell announced a month ago where it has teamed up with oil services giant Schlumberger on oilfield automation.
“As GE Healthcare and the healthcare ecosystem move toward precision health, flexible and scalable solutions are critical for companies to efficiently manufacture smaller batches of tailored medicines,” said Kevin Seaver, executive general manager, Bioprocess Automation and Digital, GE Healthcare. “Our collaboration with Rockwell Automation is an integral part of our strategy to confirm we deliver innovative solutions that meet the needs of the biopharma 4.0 era.”