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 kit1, 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. 1
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