GE Healthcare to Expand Contrast Media Production Capacity

By Will Feuer

General Electric Co.'s healthcare business said it is investing $80 million in expanding the manufacturing capacity at its active pharmaceutical ingredients site in Norway, part of an effort to increase supply of iodinated contrast media, which is used in Xrays and CT scans.

Earlier this year, hospitals were left to ration supplies of iodinated contrast media after Covid-19 restrictions in China hampered operations at GE's plant in Shanghai.

The new investment, GE said, will boost productions at its Lindesnes, Norway, site by 30%. Coupled with the recent opening of a new production line at GE Healthcare's Cork, Ireland fill and finish facility, this aims to enable the production of 30 million more patient doses per year by 2025.

"We expect global demand for iodinated contrast media to double in the next 10 years, driven by global prevalence of chronic disorders and significant growth in CT procedures," GE Healthcare Pharmaceutical Diagnostics Chief Executive Kevin O'Neill said.

The investment is the latest example of a company that saw its production in China disrupted by Covid-19 restrictions investing in more manufacturing capacity elsewhere in the world.

Write to Will Feuer at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 17, 2022 08:26 ET (13:26 GMT)

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