GE confirms Britain is better in Europe ahead of Thursday's vote
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, a biosimilars advocacy group, and Britain’s minister for life sciences have all vocalised their support for Britain remaining in the European Union (EU), ahead of the historic vote taking place in the UK tomorrow.
Now life sciences technology and tools company GE Healthcare has confirmed it too is pro-remain after its parent company – GE – was falsely charged of supporting a ‘Brexit’ in a leaflet distributed by the ‘Vote Leave’ campaign.
GE’s UK & Ireland CEO Mark Elborne said in a statement: “We are very unhappy with the unauthorised use of our trademark by the Leave campaign. At no point was our permission sought, and it would not have been given had we been asked. Our position is clear - GE supports the United Kingdom remaining in the European Union.”
As for the firm’s healthcare subsidiary, it is a $4bn global business headquartered in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, and has invested heavily in the UK over the past few years.
In 2012, the firm opened a new £3M laboratory for cell science in Cardiff, Wales, which conducts research into technologies for cell therapy and regenerative medicine, and last year opened an innovation village in Cardiff to foster collaboration between life sciences companies in Wales.
GE was one of several companies cited in the leaflet, and Japanese car manufacturer Nissan has since threatened legal action.
