Pharma and diagnostics giant Roche has announced it will buy 454 Life Sciences, manufacturer of the ultra-fast 454 Sequencer, from CuraGen for approximately A$175 million.

Roche Diagnostics, through its Roche Applied Science business area, is already the worldwide exclusive distributor of 454's genome sequencer systems. The company said the acquisition will give Roche access to 454's future generations of sequencing products and the use of 454 Sequencing for in vitro diagnostic applications.

Roche said it plans to maintain the 454 Life Sciences facility in Branford, Connecticut with its 167 employees as a fully integrated part of the Roche Diagnostics organisation.

The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, but approval by CuraGen or Roche shareholders is not required.

In 2005, 454 Sequencing and the Genome Sequencer 20 system won The Wall Street Journal's top innovation award, and it has recently introduced a new Genome Sequencer FLX system, which promises longer reads, higher throughput and greatly improved single read accuracy than its predecessor.

The company's sequencing centre offers sequencing services directly to customers on a fee for service basis.

A spokesman for CuraGen said the sale would provide funds to further its clinical trials of several oncology drugs.