Roche announced that CE Mark certification for the cobas 8000 modular analyzer series has been granted, allowing commercial distribution of the first analyzers in Europe as well as in all countries recognizing the CE Mark in the EMEA, Latin America and Asia-Pacific regions.

The cobas 8000 modular analyzer series is the newest member of the Roche cobas modular platform family combining both clinical chemistry and immunochemistry testing. It is designed to enable high volume laboratories to deliver reliable results with outstanding workflow and cost efficiency. Tests run on the new platform provide the physician with important clinical information in a wide range of medical areas as infectious and cardiac disease, bone disorders and cancer. It also includes a range of novel biomarkers for maternal care and rheumatoid arthritis.

"Building on the success of the cobas 6000 analyzer series, an integrated system for mid-volume laboratories, the cobas 8000 modular analyzer series is uniquely designed to address the needs of high volume laboratories", said Jürgen Schwiezer, head of Roche's diagnostic division. "This newest addition to the cobas family of integrated analyzers will allow extremely fast and efficient testing procedures and significantly reduce sample turn around time. "

The first configuration of cobas 8000 modular analyzer series to be launched is the high speed clinical chemistry cobas c 701 module with up to 2000 tests/hour/module. In the coming months additional clinical chemistry and immunoassay modules will be rolled out resulting in more than 38 scalable solutions which can be tailored to suit laboratories current and future needs.

With the addition of the cobas 8000 modular analyzer series, Roche now offers a comprehensive portfolio of standardized integrated systems to meet the needs of all types and sizes of clinical laboratories - from the stand alone cobas 4000 systems analyzer series for small volume labs to the cobas 6000 analyzer series for medium volume and the cobas 8000 modular analyzer series for high throughput laboratories.

With a peak throughput of up to 8,400 tests per hour and a total of 270 reagents on board, the cobas 8000 modular analyzer series merges the latest serum work area technology with new process innovations.

It incorporates many innovative design elements such as the Module Sample Buffers and independent transport and processing lines for improved sample management. The convenient clinical chemistry reagent cassette with ready to use reagents provide long on-board stability and varying cassette sizes optimized for workflow and cost management. In addition, the cobas 8000 modular analyzer series includes a package of electronic services and connectivity to all pre-analytical units from Roche further enhancing automation.