Roche announces mtm laboratories takeover

Roche has announced the acquisition of mtm laboratories, a Germany-based developer of diagnostic products for cervical cancer.

The transaction is worth a total of up to 190 million euros (166.7 million pounds) and will allow Roche to benefit from a comprehensive cervical cancer testing portfolio, from cytological screening to histological diagnosis products.

Among mtm's offerings is the CINtec Plus Cytology kit, which is approved in Europe as a means of detecting pre-cancerous lesions, as well as the CINtec Histology product for the identification of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical carcinoma in biopsy samples.

Roche has identified mtm as a leader in the field of cervical cancer, which is the largest early detection market in oncology.

Daniel O'Day, chief operating officer for Roche Diagnostics, said: "Pathologists increasingly rely on the rapid and successful identification and clinical validation of molecular markers associated with cervical cancer."

Earlier this month, the company published positive new clinical trial data for a combination pertuzumab regimen that is being evaluated as a breast cancer therapy.