Roche and PSS Sign Agreement to Develop a Fully Automated Workflow Solution for Next-generation Sequencing Platforms

PENZBERG, Germany and MATSUDO, Japan, December 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Roche and Precision System Science, Co., Ltd (PSS) today announced the signing of an exclusive agreement to develop and manufacture a fully automated emulsion PCR instrument for Roche's portfolio of next-generation sequencing platforms. It is intended to support Roche's GS Junior and GS FLX+ systems as well as the sequencing platforms that Roche is currently developing.

Until now, upfront preparation of genomic samples has been a time-consuming and complicated manual process within the sequencing workflow. The new instrument will be designed to streamline the sample preparation workflow by automating the entire emulsion PCR process thereby reducing the total hands-on time from several hours to a few minutes.

"This partnership aims to address one of the key needs of sequencing customers," said Dan Zabrowski, Head of Roche Applied Science. "The automated solution will not only improve the efficiency of laboratory workflows, but also increase the reproducibility of results by eliminating manual workload. This development program has made great progress over the last year, and we are looking forward to working with PSS because they offer outstanding expertise and have a strong track record in developing fully automated solutions."

"We are delighted that PSS and Roche are expanding their long-standing relationship in automated DNA extraction to the challenging field of DNA sequencing," said Hideji Tajima, President of PSS. "Preparing samples for sequencing is a complex, high-skill process that continues to hamper broader use of the technology. We believe that together PSS and Roche will be able to develop an automated instrument that helps overcome this obstacle and promote greater use of advanced sequencing systems."

The agreement builds on a long-term reciprocal relationship between Roche and PSS. The two companies first started to collaborate on automated DNA extraction fifteen years ago, a partnership that resulted in the successful development and marketing of nucleic acid purification products.

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 2011, Roche had over 80,000 employees worldwide and invested over 8 billion Swiss francs in R&D. The Group posted sales of 42.5 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: http://www.roche.com.

About Precision Science Systems, Co., Ltd (PSS)

PSS, located at Matsudo, Japan, is a leading global provider of laboratory instruments for nucleic acid extraction. The company specializes in the development and production of automated instruments. As an original equipment manufacturer, PSS is also a leader in developing and manufacturing OEM instruments and components that are then distributed by partner companies. Founded as a maintenance and service company for clinical laboratory instruments in 1985, the company has manufacturing, research and development sites in Japan and maintains sales and service networks in the US and Europe. Registered shares of PSS are traded on the JASDAQ under ticker code 7707.

For more information, please visit http://www.pss.co.jp.

For life science research only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

EMPCR, GS JUNIOR and GS FLX are trademarks of Roche.

All other product names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

For further information please contact:
Roche Diagnostics
Dr Claudia Schmitt
Phone: +49-885-6601-0210
Email: claudia.schmitt.cs2@roche.com