INDIANAPOLIS, April 6,  2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Roche (SIX: RO, ROG;OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today that the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT will be using the Roche LightCycler® 480 System, a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system for the analysis of gene expression and genetic variation, in advanced cancer research.

The Koch Institute plans to use the LightCycler 480 System to support several key areas of research it has identified as being critical for rapid progress toward controlling cancer, such as exploring the molecular and cellular basis of metastasis and engineering the immune system to fight cancer.  The Institute is affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass.

"Our approach at MIT offers a unique collaboration between scientists and engineers, which has helped place us at the forefront of the fight against cancer," said Robert Urban, executive director of the Koch Institute. "The LightCycler instruments will provide the platform to help us take advantage of the many applications for real-time PCR technology in cancer research."

The LightCycler 480 System is a fully integrated, 96-well and 384-well plate-based real-time PCR platform for the qualitative and quantitative detection of nucleic acids. It can be used in a broad range of applications in research fields, such as gene expression studies, discovery and analysis of genetic variation, or array data validation. More information is available at www.roche-applied-science.com.

About Roche

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is the world's largest biotech company with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, virology, inflammation, metabolism and CNS. Roche is also the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics, tissue-based cancer diagnostics and a pioneer in diabetes management. Roche's personalized healthcare strategy aims at providing medicines and diagnostic tools that enable tangible improvements in the health, quality of life and survival of patients. In 2010, Roche had over 80,000 employees worldwide and invested over 9 billion Swiss francs in R&D. The Group posted sales of 47.5 billion Swiss francs. Genentech, United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche has a majority stake in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan. For more information: www.roche.com or www.roche-diagnostics.us.

The LightCycler 480 System is for use in life science research only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

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SOURCE Roche Diagnostics