Ventana launches fully automated Gram Stain on the BenchMark Special Stains platform

TUCSON, Arizona, Oct. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (Ventana), a member of the Roche Group, today announced the global launch of the VENTANA Gram Staining Kit^[1]. Automated for use on the VENTANA BenchMark Special Stains instrument, the Gram Staining Kit aids pathologists in the most basic classification of bacteria into Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria in fixed tissue samples. Gram stain classification is clinically useful as it provides an initial indication of the nature of a patient's infection.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131022/LA01223)

The Gram stain is part of a family of histochemical special stains that many laboratories around the world still run manually today. In automating the stain, Ventana gives its customers an efficient and automated method to perform this technically challenging assay, enabling them to achieve increased productivity, consistency, and testing quality.

"Tissue diagnostics play a critical role in enabling accurate diagnosis and treatment decisions for cancer patients. Ventana is dedicated to providing laboratories, pathologists and their patients with novel assays, and we are empowering our customers to achieve greater efficiencies by automating common, yet labor-intensive tests like the Gram stain," says Mara G. Aspinall, President, Ventana Medical Systems, Inc.

The Gram Staining kit is the newest addition to the Ventana product offerings on the highly successful, fully automated BenchMark Special Stains platform launched in mid-2012. The kit offers two counterstain options and testing protocol flexibility to meet pathologists' individual preferences.

"The new Gram Staining Kit will provide our customers visual consistency and clarity rarely achieved with manual Gram staining protocols. Our commitment to quality and advancing diagnostic consistency through world-class automation shines with this new product," says Adrian Ralph, Vice President, Primary Staining, Ventana Medical Systems, Inc.

Learn more about Special Stains, and watch the BenchMark Special Stains Time lapse video here

^[1] The VENTANA Gram Stain Kit is being launched as a US Class I exempt/ CE-IVD product.

About Ventana Medical Systems, Inc.
Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. ("VMSI") (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY), a member of the Roche Group, innovates and manufactures instruments and reagents that automate tissue processing and slide staining for cancer diagnostics. VENTANA solutions are used in clinical histology and drug development research laboratories worldwide. The company's intuitive, integrated staining, workflow management platforms, and digital pathology solutions optimize laboratory efficiencies to reduce errors, support diagnosis and inform treatment decisions for anatomic pathology professionals. Together with Roche, VMSI is driving Personalized Healthcare through accelerated drug discovery and the development of "companion diagnostics" to identify the patients most likely to respond favorably to specific therapies. VENTANA, the VENTANA logo, and BenchMark are trademarks of Roche.

Visit www.ventana.com to learn more.

VMSI Media Relations
Jacqueline Bucher
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
Phone: +1-520-877-7288
e-mail: Jacquie Bucher