Today, GE Ventures announced a strategic partnership with Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institute for Medical Research providing up to $200 million in joint funding over seven years to support the opening of a new Center for Bioelectronic Medicine (CBEM), and advance diagnostic and therapeutic solutions for Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes, hypertension and more. The new alliance will greatly build upon groundbreaking work that started between the Feinstein Institute and a team of GE scientists specializing in bioelectronics research at GE’s Global Research Center in Niskayuna, NY. The alliance will be headquartered at the Feinstein Institute in Manhasset, NY, with continued close collaboration on research at GE’s Niskayuna research facility.
The Feinstein Institute is the leading pioneer in bioelectric medicine. With this funding, CBEM will foster the creation of new companies to bring life-changing solutions to market, and work to discover, develop and commercialize new diagnostic and therapeutic solutions in bioelectronic medicine that can are proven to reduce dependency on prescription medication and their powerful side-effects.
Bioelectronic medicine represents the convergence of three well-established scientific fields: neuroscience, molecular and cell biology, and bioengineering. The Feinstein Institute team, led by Kevin J. Tracey, MD, a neurosurgeon who pioneered the field, has been working in this area since 1998, and Northwell Health has already invested $75 million in support of the underlying research. As bioelectronic solutions are successfully identified, tested and refined, CBEM will foster the creation of new companies to bring life-changing solutions to market.
“We could not be more delighted to make this announcement with GE. The key to successful research is strong collaboration, something we have enjoyed with GE for many years. We are building on that strong foundation to expand the Center for Bioelectronic Medicine. Our field is growing rapidly. It is only a matter of time before we can bring new therapies from the laboratory work bench to the patient’s bedside. Our partnership with GE now quickens the pace and brings the promise of our research and experiments closer to being fully realized,” said Dr. Tracey, the Feinstein Institute’s president and CEO.