GE Healthcare and CardioDx, a pioneer in cardiovascular genomic diagnostics, have entered into a strategic alliance to co-develop diagnostic technologies. GE Healthymagination Fund will invest US$ 5 million in CardioDx as part of a Series D round that the fund is leading.

The alliance between the two companies aligns with GE’s Healthymagination initiative which focuses on reducing cost, increasing access and improving quality in healthcare. This marks the first investment for the Healthymagination Fund Other financial terms were not disclosed.

CardioDx develops genomic tests to aid in the assessment of cardiovascular diseases like coronary artery disease (CAD), cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure.

GE Healthcare has been a provider of advanced technologies for cardiovascular imaging and monitoring. CardioDx’s first product, Corus CAD is a clinically validated non-invasive genomic test that uses data such as gene expression levels and other patient characteristics to assess the likelihood of obstructive coronary artery disease. Today, patients with suspected CAD are diagnosed through a combination of non-invasive and invasive procedures. The product uses a simple blood test to quantify the likelihood of CAD, helping cardiologists make more informed decisions on how best to diagnose and treat their patients.

According to Pascale Witz, president and CEO, GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics business, the alliance with CardioDx gives us access to new and exciting technologies in high-value diagnostics, which will complement and strengthen our existing offerings. “CardioDx is an excellent strategic fit with GE Healthcare, given our common focus on cardiovascular disease. We see enormous potential in integrated, high-value diagnostics. The combined talent of the two businesses offers the potential to accelerate the development of new technologies that will ultimately improve patient care.”

David Levison, CardioDx’s president and CEO, said, “We have a shared vision of the future of healthcare, where innovation can help create greater healthcare efficiencies, reduce the need for unnecessary tests, and enable physicians to tailor care to the individual.”

Commenting on the alliance, Michael Jones, executive vice president, Business Development, GE Healthcare and director of GE’s Healthymagination Fund said that providing growth capital and investment expertise, “We offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to work with GE Healthcare and GE’s Global Research Centre to accelerate the development of new technologies that align with our healthymagination initiative.”

The Healthymagination Fund is part of GE’s US$ 6 billion healthymagination initiative, a global commitment to deliver better healthcare at lower cost. The fund draws on capabilities from across GE Healthcare, GE Capital and GE Global Research. The US$ 250 million Fund targets three broad areas for investment: Diagnostics, Healthcare Information Technology and Life Sciences.