Roche's $425 million acquisition of GeneWEAVE further strengthens its position in the field of microbial diagnostics

August 14, 2015 - Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche has announced a $425 million acquisition of GeneWEAVEBioSciences, an American in-body diagnostics company, in a final agreement. Roche will make an advance of $190 million, as well as related milestones totalling $235 million. GeneWEAVE's innovative Smarticles technology will further strengthen Roche's position in microbial diagnostics, Roche said. Upon completion of the acquisition, GeneWEAVE will be included in Roche Molecular Diagnostics.
GeneWEAVE is a privately held in-body diagnostic company based in California, USA, dedicated to advancing the development of innovative clinical microbiology diagnostic solutions to help healthcare providers respond to drug-resistant bacteria through effective drug resistance monitoring, early treatment guidance, and successful antibiotic management.
GeneWEAVE proprietary Smarticles technology is an innovative molecular diagnostic technology that quickly identifies multiple drug-resistant bacteria (MDROs) while assessing antibiotic sensitivity directly from clinical samples without the need for traditional rich culture or sample preparation processes. GeneWEAVE developed the first system, vivoDx, a fully automated random access system designed to meet laboratory needs for MDRO and antibiotic treatment guidance, which is currently being evaluated at several clinical sites in the United States.
's acquisition of GeneWEAVE's state-of-the-art technology will further strengthen Roche's position in microbial diagnostics and will help address the growing problem of super-resistant bacteria, said Roland Diggelmann, chief operating officer of
Roche Diagnostics. This technology enables healthcare professionals to obtain rapid and accurate diagnosis to support fast and correct treatment decisions. (Bio Valley)