Roche launches new automated PCR testing system in UK

Roche Diagnostics has launched its new molecular laboratory instrument, the cobas 5800 System, in the UK. 

Through improved automation the new system can help raise testing volumes, improve operational efficiency, and manage the increasing demand that many laboratories are experiencing.

The system has a small footprint making it accessible to many more laboratories and consolidates 90% of routine testing on a single platform, minimising laboratory workers’ hands-on time. The system provides a scalable solution for smaller labs seeking big lab performance, or for bigger labs seeking small lab agility.

The cobas 5800 will be available for demos at the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) Congress on 14-17 March 2022.

The processing digital platform it uses, the Molecular Work Area, currently performs over 10 million tests per month on more than 1,000 installed systems around the world.

Geoff Twist, managing director of Roche Diagnostics UK and Ireland said: “Clinicians and patients rely on accurate and timely results to make informed decisions, and in vitro testing on systems like the cobas 5800 play a crucial role in helping the NHS to provide these results in a highly pressurised environment.

“The NHS is facing another exceptionally challenging period - as it continues to respond to COVID-19 whilst also tackling the huge backlog of patients which has built up during the pandemic - and we’re delighted to bring the compact cobas 5800 to the UK market at a time when labs up and down the country are working harder than ever.

“The need for flexible, reliable, fully automated diagnostic solutions has never been more acute. By building on a system with proven reliability and performance, we continue to simplify laboratory operations to help ensure patients are diagnosed and put on the right treatment pathway as quickly as possible.”