Ventana Medical Systems, a member of the Roche Group, has said Roche will acquire 100% of mtm laboratories, a privately-held company based in Heidelberg, Germany. mtm is a global developer in vitro diagnostics with a focus on early detection and diagnosis of cervical cancer, the largest early detection market in oncology. mtm will become part of Roche's Tissue Diagnostics (Ventana Medical Systems) business unit. Roche will pay mtm shareholders an upfront payment of approximately $180 million as well as up to approximately $85 million upon reaching performance-related milestones.

"mtm products are highly complementary to Roche's innovative cobas Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) assay for cervical cancer screening, which was launched in the U.S. in April. As a result of the acquisition, Roche will have a comprehensive portfolio offering for cervical cancer testing from cytological screening to histological diagnosis and provide previously unavailable levels of medical value to gynecologists and patients worldwide,” said Daniel O'Day, COO of Roche Diagnostics.