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Basel, 9 October 2003
Roche builds world's largest molecular diagnostics manufacturing
facility in the US
Roche is investing USD 155 million in a new state-of-the-art PCR
(Polymerase Chain Reaction) Manufacturing Center located in Branchburg,
New Jersey covering about 285,000 square feet. Phase 1 of the project
is scheduled for completion in the second half of 2004 with subsequent
phases targeted for the facility to be fully operational by 2006.
This new facility will employ approximately 800 people.
"Today's groundbreaking ceremony represents a major milestone
for our future business," said Heino von Prondzynski, Head
of the Diagnostics Division and Member of the Roche Executive Committee.
"This significant investment demonstrates our commitment to
developing new products which address the future demands of the
international healthcare community. The increased capacity of the
new facility will allow for the anticipated growth especially for
the blood screening and women's health product areas."
"The new facility is being built to provide the manufacturing
and supply functions for Roche Molecular Systems' industry-leading
PCR diagnostic kits. It has been designed to further optimize productivity,
enhance product flow efficiencies and the continued delivery of
world-class quality PCR products. It will allow us to consolidate
all functions currently operating in New Jersey (Belleville, Totowa
and Branchburg) to one location," explained Heiner Dreismann,
Head of Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. during the ceremony.
The facility will include a one-story manufacturing facility, a
short-term warehousing area, a packaging area and a utility area.
A two-story office building will be connected to house manufacturing
operations personnel.
In New Jersey, Roche Diagnostics produces 337 different kits for
the research, IVD (In Vitro Diagnostics) and blood screening markets.
The diagnostics kits are used for the detection and quantification
of infectious diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis and sexually transmitted
diseases, as well as for blood screening, including the West Nile
Virus kit , which is currently in clinical trials at various locations
in the US and Canada. The production range also includes reagents
for a variety of diagnostic platforms, including AmpliChip microarray
technology. Overall Branchburg produces around 130,000 kits per
month, which are distributed worldwide. Kit volumes in Branchburg
have grown about 20 percent during the last one and a half-years
due to both new products and increases in existing products. In
2002 Roche Molecular Diagnostics, a business area of Roche Diagnostics,
posted a 19% sales increase in local currencies and reached sales
of close to one billion Swiss francs.
About Roche and Roche Diagnostics
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's
leading innovation-driven healthcare groups. Its core businesses
are pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is number one in the
global diagnostics market, the leading supplier of pharmaceuticals
for cancer and a leader in virology and transplantation. As a supplier
of products and services for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment
of disease, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to
improving people's health and quality of life. Roche employs roughly
65,000 people in 150 countries. The Group has alliances and research
and development agreements with numerous partners, including majority
ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai. Roche's Diagnostics
Division, the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics with a uniquely
broad product portfolio, supplies a wide array of innovative testing
products and services to researchers, physicians, patients, hospitals
and laboratories world-wide. For further information, please visit
our websites www.roche.com and
www.roche-diagnostics.com.
Additional information
- PCR information: www.roche-diagnostics.com/ba_rmd/pcr_jounalists.html
- PCR background: www.roche.com/pages/facetten/pcr_d.pdf
- Branchburg, New Jersey: www.branchburg.nj.us
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