AsianScientist (Dec. 18, 2014) – No matter how sophisticated a new technology is, the impact it has on society ultimately depends on how it is used and adopted. In other words, taking technology to the masses requires both access and ease of use.
These are precisely the two areas that GE Healthcare seeks to address with its new Life Sciences Training and Service Facility, opened on November 24, 2014 by Mr. David Utama, president and CEO of GE Healthcare for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.
Lowering costs and protecting the planet, too
For many of the developing economies across Asia, cost is a major factor limiting access to new technologies, noted Mr. Sankaran Rajan, GE Healthcare’s ASEAN service manager. Seeking to bring their technologies within the reach of a wider range of customers, GE has launched the GoldSeal refurbishment program, an initiative by GE to buy back, restore and re-sell used GE lab equipment.
“Before we set up our service center here in Singapore, customers’ old instruments had to be shipped all the way back to Europe. By locating our facilities here in Asia, we will help to reduce the cost for customers and also minimize the environmental impact caused by transportation,” Rajan said.
Performed by certified GE Healthcare specialists, GoldSeal refurbishment involves decontamination, replacement with original GE Healthcare parts and extensive post-refurbishment testing. Furthermore, refurbished equipment comes with updated software and the same one-year warranty as new instruments.
“On the one hand, our trade-in initiative incentivizes customers to upgrade to newer models and frees up precious bench space in the labs,” Rajan explained. “On the other hand, it also gives developing countries access to fully functional older models, making research more cost-effective for them. But most of all, it is environmentally friendly, maximizing the use of existing assets.”
Technology for everyone
Strategically located in Tuas, the GoldSeal refurbishment center is co-located with a training facility that caters to GE Healthcare’s industrial partners. With equipment ranging from cell culture bioreactors to surface plasmon resonance systems and super resolution microscopes, the facility provides critical hands-on training opportunities.
“There are five major global pharmaceutical companies operating right here in Tuas. A major problem they all face is the churn of employees, where it takes a long time to train people in the specific skills required,” explained Mr. Vijayasimha (Vijay) H. N., General Manager of GE Healthcare Life Sciences ASEAN Region. “The hands-on training that we provide lets companies provide such training close to their site.”
The training facility boasts a full range of products for each application, allowing GE Healthcare to train users from the proof-of-concept stage to scale-up manufacturing. For example, there are three different machines available for protein purification under the ÄKTA™ range: ÄKTA™ start, ÄKTA™ pure and ÄKTA™ Avant, with increasing levels of functionality.
Similarly, there are three levels of surface plasmon resonance machines under the Biacore™ label-free interaction analysis system. With the full suite of machines, the training facility can provide support to academic researchers working on interaction studies as well as private companies which are increasingly using surface plasmon resonance for quality control processes, particularly in the emerging field of biologics.
Even non-scientific users stand to benefit from the new facilities. The DNAscan rapid DNA analysis system facilitates crime scene DNA profiling, giving results in less than 90 minutes. With reagents that are stable at room temperature and a fully automated process, no operator training is required. The unit at the training facility will give potential users the opportunity to try the system for themselves, paving the way for future applications in border control, immigration and disaster victim identification.
In Asia, for Asia
GE Healthcare’s life sciences training and service facility is part of the wider trend of moving towards better service provision. As Asia’s biotech market continues to grow, new customers increase the volume of demand while existing customers develop more complex requirements.
“We sat back and asked ourselves, what is it that we need here in Asia? What do customers want and where are they facing problems? This new training facility came out of that thought process and is our response to the changing market,” Vijay said.
“This new center is a serious commitment on our part, involving many costly machines. However, our company recognizes the importance of being in Asia, for Asia. We look forward to better serving our clients with initiatives such as these.”
Asian Scientist Magazine is a media partner of GE Healthcare Life Sciences.
For more information, please contact Marketing Leader Mr. Roy Lee.
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Copyright: Asian Scientist Magazine.
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