Roche acquires signature, a German cancer transformation and genomics company

Source: medicine.com.cn on February 11, 2015, following the last acquisition, Roche today announced the acquisition of signature diagnostics, a German Cancer translational chemistry and genomics company, but did not disclose the transaction amount In the past year, Roche has set off a wave of acquisitions in the field of histology and molecular diagnosis: last spring, it acquired genia, the fourth generation sequencing company, and iquum, the rapid molecular diagnosis company; last December, it acquired bina, an information technology company, and ariasa, a non-invasive prenatal testing company; and last year, Roche acquired avitro from abvitro We purchased the next generation sequencing sample preparation technology and invested in the next generation sequencing company Stratos genomics The acquired signature company, based in Potsdam, has a large biological sample library of cancer blood and tissues, including lung and colon cancer samples Its samples come from prospective clinical studies in various centers Signature uses these samples, as well as relevant clinical progress and genetic data, to develop and verify free circulating DNA tests Roche said the tests could advance the monitoring of non-invasive treatment response in cancer patients In view of the importance of biological sample library for the research on the origin of diseases (such as cancer), Roland, chief operating officer of Roche Diagnostics, said that between the high-value cancer biological sample library and the development of next-generation sequencing analysis, signature's products play a unique role: pharmaceutical companies can use biological sample library to develop biomarkers and conduct various tests In the fall of 2013, signature said it had developed a plasma ultra deep sequencing test kit to monitor the progress of colorectal cancer patients and detect early metastasis of cancer Roland said Roche will accelerate the development of diagnostics based on next-generation sequencing technology on the basis of what signature already has Roche will integrate signature diagnostics into its sequencing division and continue to expand the company, while signature's test kits are for research purposes only