Roche Acquires mtm laboratories, Broadening Cervical Cancer Testing Capabilities

F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd. (Roche; Basel, Switzerland), a pharmaceutical and diagnostics provider, acquired mtm laboratories AG (Heidelberg, Germany), an in vitro diagnostics company specializing in early detection and diagnosis of cervical cancer. The agreement will make mtm a part of Roche's tissue diagnostics business unit, Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (Tucson, AZ, USA).

mtm's proprietary test solutions, based on the p16 biomarker, have been developed for the identification and diagnosis of precancerous cervical lesions. p16 is a gene involved in tumor suppression in the cell and is an established marker of the early oncogenic process leading to cancer. The level of p16 protein increases markedly once persistent HPV infection leads to oncogenic transformation of cells in the cervix.

"Pathologists increasingly rely on the rapid and successful identification and clinical validation of molecular markers associated with cervical cancer," said Daniel O'Day, COO Roche Diagnostics. "mtm products are highly complementary to Roche's innovative cobas Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) assay for cervical cancer screening, which was launched in the US in April of this year. As a result of the acquisition, Roche will have a comprehensive portfolio offering for cervical cancer testing from cytological screening to histological diagnosis and provide previously unavailable levels of medical value to gynecologists and patients worldwide."

"The combination of cobas HPV and p16 tests may redefine the standard of care for cervical cancer testing by improving detection, reducing unnecessary cervical biopsies, and improving the confirmation of cervical precancer," added O'Day.

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