Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche Holdings recently announced the acquisition of Ariosa Diagnostics, which makes non-invasive prenatal testing equipment. The terms of the deal were not disclosed by Roche in its press release. According to WHO, there are over 200 million pregnancies worldwide annually and prenatal testing to detect Down syndrome is gaining strong traction. This move not only allows Roche to establish a foothold in a new and growing market, but also emphasizes the company’s confidence in the overall diagnostics industry. Given that J&J’s medical devices and diagnostics business hasn’t grown much in recent years, Roche’s acquisitions and investments may indicate that it is doing something better than its competitor and perhaps knows which key markets to target. Read more.
Prenatal Information Research Consortium 