Roche buys BioImagene

Many thanks to a blog reader for the news — this goes beyond what we have been seeing recently – namely scanner companies and image analysis companies combining forces with IHC vendors.

Roche's purchase of BioImagene I think further validates the use of digital pathology for use in clinical practice – particularly in areas such as image analysis and predictive marker analysis.

More on this to follow in future posts.

Roche acquires BioImagene, a leading provider of digital pathology laboratory solutions

Acquisition further strengthens Roche’s global leadership in tissue-based cancer diagnostics and research

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today that it has signed an agreement under which Ventana Medical Systems Inc., a member of the Roche Group, will acquire 100 percent of BioImagene, Inc., a privately held company based in Sunnyvale, California. The purchase price is approximately 100 million US dollars on a debt-free basis. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the coming weeks.

BioImagene is an innovative leader in the field of digital pathology workflow and analysis. Digital pathology is a suite of dynamic, image-based technologies that enable image capture, information management, image analysis and virtual sharing of patients’ tissue samples on glass slides.

“As part of the personalised healthcare approach, pathologists are increasingly involved in generating information with high impact on treatment decisions,” said Daniel O’Day, COO Roche Diagnostics. “The increasing complexity of new tests and technologies creates tremendous need for more sophisticated tools for tissue analysis and diagnosis. BioImagene products will complement and strengthen our current offering in image analysis and information management.”

“With its leadership position in pathology and its global reach, Ventana is the ideal partner for BioImagene,” commented Ajit Singh, CEO of BioImagene, Inc. “Ventana is already a leader in image analysis for breast cancer applications and has a wide range of market-leading diagnostics products used in hospitals and laboratories worldwide. In turn, BioImagene brings to Ventana additional capabilities for scanning and analysing tissue that are not possible in the glass-slide world.”

BioImagene’s products create high-resolution, whole-slide digital images from glass microscope slides. They also provide the software to view, analyze and manage tissue images using a computer, taking pathology beyond traditional microscope applications. In addition, their products improve workflow efficiency in image archiving and retrieval, remote case review, and turnaround time.

“Through this acquisition, Ventana is uniquely positioned to improve laboratory efficiency and help pathologists improve patient care,” said Hany Massarany, President of Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. “Our VIAS Image Analysis System was the first entry into the digital pathology market and is now the leading system for automated image analysis in breast cancer. With BioImagene’s current and future products we will be able to deliver an end-to-end solution from automated staining to comprehensive patient reports.”

About BioImagene, Inc.

BioImagene (http://www.bioimagene.com) is a leading provider of innovative and scalable digital pathology solutions. The company's total digital pathology solution is comprised of the Virtuoso™ digital pathology application software, iScan™ family of automated digital slide scanners, and a rich menu of Companion Algorithms™. BioImagene's innovative product line includes a unique image viewing input device called the iSlide™, and a high-performance pathology workstation called Crescendo™.

About Ventana Medical Systems, Inc./ Roche Tissue Diagnostics

Ventana develops, manufactures, and markets instrument/reagent systems that automate tissue preparation and slide staining in clinical histology and drug discovery laboratories worldwide. The Company's clinical systems are important tools used in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Ventana drug discovery systems are used to accelerate the discovery of new drug targets and evaluate the safety of new drug compounds. In addition, the Company offers premier workflow solutions designed to improve laboratory efficiency, providing safeguards to enhance the quality of healthcare. Ventana is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. For more information on Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. visit www.ventanamed.com.

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 personalised healthcare strategy aims at providing medicines and diagnostic tools that enable tangible improvements in the health, quality of life and survival of patients. In 2009, Roche had over 80’000 employees worldwide and invested almost 10 billion Swiss francs in R&D. The Group posted sales of 49.1 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: www.roche.com.