Roche signs agreement to acquire Verum Diagnostica

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today that it has signed an agreement under which it will acquire 100 percent of Verum Diagnostica GmbH, based in Munich, Germany. Verum Diagnostica is a leading company in platelet function testing, the fastest-growing field in the coagulation diagnostics market.

The acquisition supports plans Roche announced in October 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.

"Improving the assessment of a patient's platelet function status is currently a significant unmet need for hematologists, cardiologists and anesthetists in order to support clinical decisions in cardiology, surgery and intensive care," said Colin Brown, Head of Roche Professional Diagnostics. "With this acquisition we gain an innovative and unique platelet function testing solution which has the potential to set new standards of patient care in this area and perfectly complements our new coagulation portfolio." Coagulation diagnostics has become an important area in clinical diagnostics and Roche has already begun to make significant investments in this field.

Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, Roche will pay Verum Diagnostica shareholders a total cash consideration of eleven million euros, and potentially a further two million euros contingent upon reaching certain performance-related milestones. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in January 2012.

Laboratory coagulation is estimated to be the fifth-largest market in professional diagnostics worldwide, representing approximately 1.3 billion USD in sales in 2010 and having a projected annual growth rate of 5.1% over the next five years. Platelet function testing represents an unmet medical need and has the potential to expand the available market significantly.

SOURCE Roche Diagnostics