Roche Holding AG / Verum Diagnostica GmbH

Coagulation / Platelet Function Diagnostics

$1.3B Global laboratory coagulation diagnostics market 2010 (~5.1% CAGR)

Disease Overview

Platelet function testing measures how effectively platelets aggregate, which clinicians use to manage antiplatelet therapy (aspirin, clopidogrel, ticagrelor) in cardiac stenting, monitor bleeding risk during surgery, and diagnose inherited platelet disorders. Traditional light transmission aggregometry is technically demanding and lab-confined; impedance aggregometry on the Multiplate runs on whole blood and is faster, enabling near-patient use. The clinical question — which patients are non-responders to antiplatelet therapy — remained imperfectly answered in 2011.

Competitive Landscape

Roche entered platelet function testing against entrenched competitors. Accumetrics' VerifyNow (later acquired by Accriva/Werfen) was the dominant point-of-care antiplatelet response system in US cardiology suites, while Helena Laboratories, Sysmex and Siemens Healthineers held lab-aggregometry share. The Multiplate analyzer differentiated through whole-blood impedance aggregometry and a strong European installed base across 45+ countries. At only €11M cash plus €2M in milestones (~$17M total), the deal was a tuck-in not a market move — Roche framed it as the missing piece of a comprehensive coagulation portfolio it planned to launch in the US and Canada in 2014, complementing its existing CoaguChek POC business and a new full-line lab analyzer. Industry coverage characterized platelet function testing as 'the fastest-growing field in coagulation diagnostics' against a $1.3B global lab-coagulation base growing ~5.1% annually. The deal's significance was strategic positioning rather than near-term revenue: it gave Roche a credible answer to specialty cardiology customers who increasingly demanded antiplatelet response data alongside INR/PT/aPTT.