Roche Applied Science was a global business entity in the biotechnology sector that produces reagents and systems for life sciences research, with an emphasis on

molecular genetics Molecular genetics is a branch of biology that addresses how differences in the structures or expression of DNA molecules manifests as variation among organisms. Molecular genetics often applies an "investigative approach" to determine the st ...

and

cell biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...

research needs.

Scope of business

Roche Applied Science produced reagents and systems for related to DNA sequencing, microarrays, gene expression, and cell analysis. Important fields of application of the company's products are the

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...

areas of the

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

and

pharmaceutical Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

industries. The company also offers reagents and systems for the pharmaceuticals and diagnostics industries.

Locations

The company's headquarters was in Penzberg in

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (, ; ) is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat of the district gove ...

, Germany; other main sites are

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

, Germany, Rotkreuz in Switzerland,

Madison, WI Madison is the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 census. The Madison metropolitan area had 680,796 residents. Centrally located on an isthm ...

, Pleasanton, CA, and Branford, CT in the United States.

History

Roche Applied Science was founded in 1859 as Boehringer Mannheim, a developer of rare chemicals and pharmaceuticals. In the 1950s, the bioreagents product line was developed according to the company’s own needs in diagnostics research. They were the first commercially important producer of restriction enzymes, they were the first supplier of Klenow enzyme for

Sanger sequencing Sanger sequencing is a method of DNA sequencing that involves electrophoresis and is based on the random incorporation of chain-terminating dideoxynucleotides by DNA polymerase during in vitro DNA replication. After first being developed by Fred ...

, and they are the only supplier of a system for the non-radioactive labeling of

nucleic acid Nucleic acids are large biomolecules that are crucial in all cells and viruses. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomer components: a pentose, 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The two main classes of nuclei ...

Instrument development

As of 2011, Roche Applied Science's instrumentation products included

genome sequencing Whole genome sequencing (WGS), also known as full genome sequencing or just genome sequencing, is the process of determining the entirety of the DNA sequence of an organism's genome at a single time. This entails sequencing all of an organism's ...

platforms, an instrument to perform automated

polymerase chain reaction The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to make millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample rapidly, allowing scientists to amplify a very small sample of DNA (or a part of it) sufficiently to enable detailed st ...

s (PCR) and product analyses, and a system for real-time, label-free cellular analysis for use in cell invasion/migration studies. Roche has a history of both developing new technologies, and licensing them from other companies.

Restructuring

In the second quarter of 2013, Roche announced plans to integrate the products of the Applied Science business area within the Molecular and Professional Diagnostics business areas. Genome sequencing, formerly a part of the Applied Science portfolio, was moved into Molecular Diagnostics division. In 2013 impairment charges for goodwill and intangible assets of 35 million Swiss francs and 12 million Swiss francs were incurred for the Applied Science restructuring.

References