GE HEALTHCARE & Merck : GLOBAL MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTIC AGREEMENT TO ADVANCE RESPIRATORY DRUG DEVELOPMENT

May 05, 2008 - - GE Healthcare, a subsidiary of the General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) announced today that it has signed a non-exclusive agreement with Merck & Co., Inc. to share technology on imaging of the lungs that may help to advance respiratory treatment development.

Under terms of the agreement, Merck will be granted access to Spin Signal TechnologyTM (SST) utilizing hyperpolarized Xenon 129 gas, a molecular imaging agent that is under investigation by GE Healthcare to provide high speed, quantitative imaging of the lung using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). GE Healthcare originally licensed this technology from Princeton University... GE Healthcare's Press Release -