Tecan's OEM partner Dako unveils new platform at global congress

Männedorf, Switzerland, March 7, 2013 - The Tecan Group (SIX Swiss Exchange: TECN) announced today that its OEM partner Dako, an Agilent Technologies Company and worldwide provider of cancer diagnostics, unveiled the new advanced staining platform at the 2013 USCAP congress in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Earlier this week, it was presented to a global gathering of pathologists and lab personnel for the first time.

In May 2011, Tecan signed a major OEM agreement with Dako for the development and supply of an advanced staining platform. Formerly the development program was referred to by Tecan as P16. The solution, Dako Omnis, comprises hardware, software and reagents. 

Lars Holmkvist, CEO of Dako said: "The Dako Omnis offers full-automation to satisfy the needs of large-scale laboratories, hospitals and universities. Tecan has been our ideal development partner for this system due to their strong application know-how and experience with end-customer workflows in the IHC and ISH segment. Furthermore, as we progressed through the development, we found that Tecan shared our values of innovation and ownership and that their experience in system integration was key in bringing the Dako OMNIS to market."

Tecan CEO David Martyr commented: "We are delighted to work with Dako, a global leader in the fast growing area of tissue-based cancer diagnostics. The Dako Omnis is really setting a new standard for advanced staining. We expect sales volumes for Tecan from the supply of the Dako Omnis to accelerate from the second half of this year with a substantial contribution to our sales growth from 2014 onwards. Based on our partnership today, we look forward to further intensify our relationship with Dako in the future."

Methods used in the diagnosis of abnormal cells such as those found in cancerous tumors include immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH). The Dako Omnis automates both IHC and ISH processes, meaning entire patient cases can be processed simultaneously. This allows pathologists to make quicker, more informed diagnoses. Oncologists can in turn prescribe relevant therapy with less anxiety-ridden waiting time for patients.

With continuous loading, batch loading and overnight run options all available, Dako Omnis sets new standards for what customers can expect from an automated platform in terms of flexibility, capacity, efficiency and traceability of slides. The platform provides state-of-the-art software to bring lab control to a new level. Now, key processes such as slide processing and instrument maintenance can be traced to individual operators, greatly increasing quality control.

About Tecan
Tecan (www.tecan.com) is a leading global provider of laboratory instruments and solutions in biopharmaceuticals, forensics and clinical diagnostics. The company specializes in the development, production and distribution of automated workflow solutions for laboratories in the life sciences sector. Its clients include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, university research departments, forensic and diagnostic laboratories. As an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Tecan is also a leader in developing and manufacturing OEM instruments and components that are then distributed by partner companies. Founded in Switzerland in 1980, the company has manufacturing, research and development sites in both Europe and North America and maintains a sales and service network in 52 countries. In 2012, Tecan generated sales of CHF 391 million (USD 416 million; EUR 323 million). Registered shares of Tecan Group are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange (TECN; ISIN CH0012100191).

For further information:

Tecan Group
Martin Braendle
Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Tel. +41 (0) 44 922 84 30
Fax +41 (0) 44 922 88 89
investor@tecan.com
www.tecan.com