Roche to acquire Kapa Biosystems to strengthen next-generation sequencing product offerings

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) recently announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Kapa Biosystems, Inc. (Kapa) a privately-held company headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts. US. Kapa Biosystems is a provider of genomic tools in the life sciences sector that employs proprietary technologies to optimize enzymes for next-generation sequencing (NGS), as well as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time PCR applications.

Kapa’s proprietary protein engineering technology is highly customizable and allows for the generation and screening of large numbers of enzyme variants. Tailored enzymes with improved performance for specific applications can be rapidly selected, expediting product development timelines. Kapa’s impressive portfolio of NGS reagents includes enzymes such as novel DNA polymerases, with the potential to improve the performance of the entire sequencing workflow.

“This acquisition builds on Roche’s commitment to develop a differentiated NGS portfolio that will provide our customers with a complete genetic testing solution,” said Roland Diggelmann, COO Roche Diagnostics Division. “Kapa’s technology and products complement our current expertise and offerings such as the portfolio of target enrichment products for NGS. We welcome Kapa’s employees and are looking forward to strengthening our NGS offerings with this unique technology.”

“Joining Roche provides us access to their broad product portfolio, global reach and clinical expertise that will accelerate our strategy of offering comprehensive NGS workflow solutions to more laboratories around the world,” said Paul McEwan, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Kapa Biosystems. “We are also excited to have the opportunity to further leverage our enzyme engineering capabilities to advance the fields of genomics and sequencing, with the ultimate goal of having a more significant impact on medicine and human health.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

About Kapa Biosystems

Kapa Biosystems, co-founded by Trey Foskett, Paul McEwan, Ron McEwan and Chris McGuinness in 2006, has pioneered the use of directed evolution to develop a suite of high-performance reagents for a range of life science applications. Their products are used by thousands of scientists around the world and cited in more than 4,000 peer-reviewed publications. They are continuing to develop innovative solutions that accelerate genomics research that can impact the future ability to diagnose, monitor and treat cancer and complex inherited and infectious diseases.

Kapa Biosystems is based in Wilmington, Massachusetts, and has a research, development and manufacturing facility in Cape Town, South Africa.

For more information, visit http://www.kapabiosystems.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, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology and neuroscience. Roche is also the world leader in in vitro diagnostics and tissue-based cancer diagnostics, and a frontrunner in diabetes management. Roche’s personalised healthcare strategy aims at providing medicines and diagnostics that enable tangible improvements in the health, quality of life and survival of patients. Founded in 1896, Roche has been making important contributions to global health for more than a century. Twenty-nine medicines developed by Roche are included in the World Health Organization Model Lists of Essential Medicines, among them life-saving antibiotics, antimalarials and chemotherapy.

In 2014, the Roche Group employed 88,500 people worldwide, invested 8.9 billion Swiss francs in R&D and posted sales of 47.5 billion Swiss francs. Genentech, in the United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche is the majority shareholder in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan. For more information, please visit roche.com.