Roche to Expand Coagulation Testing Portfolio, Develop New Systems for Diagnostic Laboratories in US and Canada by 2014

INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced plans today to expand its coagulation testing product line in North America beyond physician offices and outpatient clinics with the development of a full line of coagulation analyzers for hospital and reference laboratories. The new line is expected to be introduced in the U.S. and Canada in 2014, subject to regulatory approval and other requirements.

Roche Diagnostics is the global market leader in coagulation (blood clotting) testing at the point of care, offering the CoaguChek^® line of handheld meters for use by healthcare professionals and patients. The new line of analyzers for the central coagulation lab, which will be marketed under Roche's cobas^® brand, is expected to include three platforms that address a range of customer needs, from low-volume testing to the high-throughput demands of commercial laboratories, along with a complete menu of coagulation assays.

The announcement follows the statement earlier today that, effective January 1, 2012, Roche Diagnostics and Diagnostica Stago will pursue separate paths in laboratory coagulation in territories where Roche distributes the Stago line of lab coagulation analyzers. Roche does not currently distribute Stago products in the U.S. or Canada, so the introduction of the new lab coagulation product line will represent a significant move into a new market for Roche in both countries.

Laboratory coagulation is estimated to be the fifth largest market in professional diagnostics worldwide, representing approximately $1.3 billion in sales in 2010 and having a projected annual growth rate of 5.1% over the next five years.

About Roche

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is the world's largest biotech company with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, virology, inflammation, metabolism and CNS. Roche is also the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics, tissue-based cancer diagnostics and a pioneer in diabetes management. Roche's personalized healthcare strategy aims at providing medicines and diagnostic tools that enable tangible improvements in the health, quality of life and survival of patients. In 2010, Roche had over 80,000 employees worldwide and invested over 9 billion Swiss francs in R&D. The Group posted sales of 47.5 billion Swiss francs. Genentech, United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche has a majority stake in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan. For more information: www.roche.com or www.roche-diagnostics.us.

COAGUCHEK and COBAS are trademarks of Roche. All trademarks mentioned in this release are protected by law.

For further information, please contact:

Betsy Cox
Director, Corporate Communications
Roche Diagnostics Corporation
Indianapolis, Indiana USA
(317) 521-3911
[email protected]

Melanie Lussier
Associate Manager, Communications
Roche Diagnostics Canada
Laval, Quebec, Canada
(450) 686-3137
[email protected]

SOURCE Roche Diagnostics

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