Roche’s Cobas 6000 analysis module
Roche is to construct a new production facility at its Penzberg biotechnology centre near Munich in Germany to keep up with demand for its diagnostics products.
The Swiss pharma company will spend CHF240m (more than €200m) to construct the facility, creating 50 new jobs in the process.
Roche said it had seen “sustained global demand” for the reagents used in immunoassays, which enable doctors to detect biomarkers in patients’ blood.
Roland Diggelmann, chief operating officer of Roche’s Diagnostics Division, said: ‘This investment in meeting global demand for immunoassays is further evidence of the success of our personalised healthcare strategy.
“Today’s diagnostics make it possible to detect and differentiate the causes and triggers of chronic illnesses and acute conditions with greater precision than ever before.
“The new facility will ensure that we can continue to meet the rising demand for reagents.”
As the firm’s largest biotech R&D site in Europe, Roche’s Penzberg facility already employs nearly 5,000 people and the company’s plans will see its production capacity for diagnostic test and control reagents increased.
Roche sells nearly 100 different tests for its Elecsys immunoassay platform and it is also the core technology in its Cobas system.
The Cobas EGFR Mutation Test is currently under review by the FDA and is being used by Astellas to support its application to the US regulator for a new personalised licence for Tarceva.