Roche is planning to acquire a company who produces microarrays, called Nimblegen Systems. The purchase price. . . a mere $272.5 Million. The CEO of Roche Diagnostics, Severin Schwan, explains that this is a tactic by Roche to increase their visibility in the genomics/genetics markets. The microarrays produced by NimbleGen Systems are said to compliment Roche's campaigns among the genetics/genomics communities. It should be very interesting to see the products that will come out in the near future with these two companies collaborating efforts.

Genomic research tools are key for the future of any major pharma group, a Roche spokesperson was quoted by Thomson Financial News as saying. These tools help our understanding of genetic causes of disease and predisposition factors, and also help in identifying potential drug targets and thus offer a great potential for pipeline development.