TUCSON, Ariz. and INGELHEIM, Germany, Sept. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (Ventana), a member of the Roche Group, and Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) announced today that they have entered into an agreement to collaborate on the development of companion diagnostic tests for Boehringer Ingelheim oncology programs.

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As part of the agreement, Ventana will utilize its immunohistochemistry technology platform, experience and expertise in companion diagnostic development and premarket approval (PMA) submissions to support Boehringer Ingelheim's personalized medicine healthcare strategies for cancer drug development.

Companion diagnostic tests provide information that aids physicians in choosing targeted treatments for their patients based on the expected best response to therapy. By integrating the development of companion diagnostic kits and drug candidates, Boehringer Ingelheim strives to yield cancer treatments with optimized benefit risk profiles.

"We are pleased that our commitment to enable Personalized Healthcare for patients worldwide was recognized by Boehringer Ingelheim when they selected Ventana to be a companion diagnostics development partner for their oncology programs," says Mara G. Aspinall, President, Ventana Medical Systems, Inc.

"We look forward to partnering with Ventana and accessing their significant capabilities and expertise in developing companion diagnostics that will complement our products to further advance the delivery of personalized healthcare solutions for patients," says Klaus Dugi, Corporate Senior Vice President, Medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim.

In addition to Boehringer Ingelheim, Ventana has worked with more than 45 biopharmaceutical partners over the past decade and is currently engaged in over 150 collaborative projects to develop and commercialize companion diagnostics globally.

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 and the VENTANA logo are trademarks of Roche. Visit http://ventana.com/ to learn more.

VMSI Media Relations Jacqueline Bucher Senior Director, Corporate CommunicationsPhone: 520-877-7288e-mail: jacquie.bucher@ventana.roche.com

About Boehringer Ingelheim

The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 140 affiliates in 50 countries and more than 46,000 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel medications of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine. In 2012, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of about €14.2 billion. R&D expenditure in the business area Prescription Medicines corresponds to 22.5% of its net sales.

For more information, go to www.boehringer-ingelheim.com.

Media ContactDr. Reinhard MalinBoehringer Ingelheim GmbHLaunch Products CorePhone: +49 (6132) 77-90815Email: reinhard.malin@boehringer-ingelheim.com

US Media ContactSusan HolzPublic RelationsPhone: 203-798-4265Email: susan.holz@boehringer-ingelheim.com

SOURCE Ventana Medical Systems, Inc.

RELATED LINKShttp://www.ventana.com