Dive Brief:
- GE HealthCare said Monday it has agreed to acquire Sofie Biosciences for $945 million in cash to expand its reach in the U.S. radiopharmaceutical industry.
- Sofie Biosciences is a contract manufacturing organization for positron emission tomography radiopharmaceuticals, radioactive drugs that are used in medical imaging tests to visualize metabolic and molecular activity and to treat a range of diseases.
- The deal gives GE HealthCare a U.S. manufacturing and distribution footprint for F18-labeled PET products, which have a 110-minute half-life and require time-sensitive production and distribution, BTIG analyst Ryan Zimmerman said in a note to clients.
Dive Insight:
Sofie Biosciences will become part of GE HealthCare’s pharmaceutical diagnostics business, PDx, when the deal closes, which is expected in the first half of 2027.
GE HealthCare said it will continue to expand access to its existing proprietary F18 radiopharmaceutical products and advance a pipeline of new products, both through Sofie Biosciences and PDx’s other CMO partners across the U.S.
Sofie Biosciences, meanwhile, will remain an independent manufacturing partner to its customers and supply its existing portfolio, including products from other radiopharmaceutical providers. Sofie Biosciences has a U.S. network of 15 CMO sites.
BTIG’s Zimmerman said the added manufacturing and distribution capacity could help reduce bottlenecks in the radiopharmaceutical adoption cycle.
GE HealthCare will also gain U.S. rights to FAPI-74, a pipeline pan-cancer PET radiotracer for which it holds rights outside the U.S.
Sofie Biosciences already manufactures GE HealthCare’s Flyrcado F18 injection product.
“As part of GE HealthCare, Sofie Biosciences is expected to grow in the low double digits, and enables us to participate across the radiopharmaceutical value stream, meeting customer demand through a mix of GE HealthCare owned and partner facilities,” Kevin O'Neill, CEO of GE HealthCare’s PDx business, said in a statement.
The acquisition is expected to contribute to GE HealthCare’s revenue growth and adjusted earnings per share in the first full year of ownership, the company said.
