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Basel, 16 February 2004
Roche completes acquisition of Igen
Broad access to immunochemistry sector
Roche announced today that it had completed the acquisition of
Igen on February 13. On the same day Igen ceased trading. Igen and
Roche jointly announced in July 2003 that they had entered into
definitive agreements under which Roche would acquire Igen and Igen
would simultaneously distribute the common stock of BioVeris, a
newly formed company, to its stockholders.
The acquisition of Igen ends a long standing patent dispute and
gives Roche broad access to the human in-vitro diagnostics (IVD)
immunochemistry sector. Valued at 7.5 billion Swiss francs, immunochemistry
is the biggest segment of the in-vitro diagnostics market. This
strategic acquisition will place Roche Diagnostics in an ideal position
to become the market leader in this segment in the medium to long
term. In the last three years Roche has increased sales of the Elecsys
immunochemistry product line by over 20% annually.
As a result of the transaction, Igen stockholders will receive
$47.25 in cash and one share of BioVeris common stock for each share
of Igen common stock they owned immediately prior to the closing.
BioVeris common stock has been approved for listing on NASDAQ under
the symbol "BIOV" and is expected to begin trading on
February 17, 2004.
Heino von Prondzynski, Head of Roche Diagnostics and a member of
Roche's Corporate Executive Committee: "The acquisition of
Igen gives Roche non-exclusive rights that permit us to fully exploit
the potential of electrochemiluminescence (ECL) technology in the
Immunochemistry IVD market to further develop the Elecsys product
line. It also allows us to expand our activities in one of the division's
largest and most attractive growth areas - immunochemistry, which
accounts for over 25% of the in-vitro diagnostics market. We will
now continuously extend our menu including a significant number
of proteomic markers"
About the immunochemistry sector
The immunochemistry sector is a segment of in-vitro diagnostics
that is mainly concerned with the diagnosis of hormones, cancer
markers or infectious diseases. The term immunochemistry described
the use of antibodies and antigens in the analytical process as
a tool for detection. In 2003 the Elecsys immunochemistry product
line posted double-digit gains and reached sales of CHF 745 million1
. Roche Diagnostics is constantly expanding the system's test menu
and in 2003 added a new hormone marker assay and new therapeutic
drug monitoring (drug concentration) tests.
About the electrochemiluminescent technology
Electrochemiluminescent (ECL) processes are known to occur with
numerous molecules including compounds of e.g. ruthenium. ECL is
a process in which highly reactive species are generated from stable
precursors at the surface of an electrode. These highly reactive
species react with one another, producing light. The development
of ECL immunoassays is based on the use of a ruthenium complex and
tripropylamine (TPA). The chemiluminescent reactions that lead to
the emission of light from the ruthenium complex are initiated electrically,
rather than chemically. This is achieved by applying a voltage to
the immunological complexes (including the ruthenium complex) that
are attached to streptavidin-coated microparticles.
About Roche
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 R&D
agreements with numerous partners, including majority ownership
interests in Genentech and Chugai.
About BioVeris
BioVeris develops, manufactures and markets advanced biological
and chemical detection systems, including instruments, tests and
related consumable reagents. BioVeris' products are based on its
unique patent-protected ECL technology. BioVeris and its licensees
provide products to the global diagnostics markets, including: clinical
diagnostics and non-clinical diagnostics (biodefense, life science
research and testing for food safety and quality control). BioVeris
is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Additional information
Roche Diagnostics: www.roche-diagnostics.com
- BioVeris: www.bioveris.com
1 including instruments, reagents and services
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