Annual Report 2002 - Roche

Centralized Diagnostics. Sales by our
Centralized Diagnostics unit, the leading
supplier of integrated analytical
systems for hospitals and high-volume
laboratories, advanced 8% in local
currencies, outpacing the market by
a substantial margin. The increase
was driven primarily by our Elecsys
(immunochemistry) and Integra
(clinical chemistry) product lines and
by the hematology products we market
in North America and a number of
European and Asian countries for our
Japanese partner Sysmex.
test not only detects the disease but
also helps doctors to determine its
severity and the likely prognosis.
Thanks to proBNP, heart failure can
now be detected at an early stage and
treatment significantly improved.
There are nearly 5 million symptomatic
heart failure patients in the
United States alone, and roughly
half a million new cases are diagnosed
there every year.
Roche’s presence in this segment
has been further strengthened by the
global roll-out of Modular Analytics
SWA, the first commercially available
serum work area to combine highthroughput
clinical chemistry and
immunoassay testing on a single platform.
The platform can be configured
to individual laboratories’ needs and
is capable of processing roughly 90% of
patient samples in a single pass, thus
setting new standards of efficiency and
productivity.
The wide range of high-quality tests
available for Modular Analytics SWA
is another reason why the system
has received such a positive market
response. In 2002 the menu was
expanded to include tests for hormones,
cardiac markers and markers
of bone metabolism. This brings to
50 the number of clinical parameters
that can now be determined using
Elecsys analysers.
The year also saw the successful launch
of Elecsys proBNP, the first commercial,
fully-automated test for diagnosing
heart failure and monitoring
patients’ response to treatment. The
Roche has lodged an appeal against the
judgement issued in the Igen lawsuit in
April 2002 by a lower court in the
United States. At the same time we are
in discussions with Igen with the aim
of establishing a successful basis for
future cooperation that will benefit
both parties.
Molecular Diagnostics. Roche
Molecular Diagnostics, the market
leader in its field, posted a 19% sales
increase in local currencies, a growth
rate that is once again well ahead of
the market average. The business area’s
AmpliScreen tests for screening
donated blood and blood products
Diagnostics 39