Roche will be allying with Precision System Science (PSS) on the creation of new automation technology for application with Roche's portfolio of next-generation sequencing platforms.

The deal will involve the development and manufacture of a fully automated emulsion polymerase chain reaction instrument for Roche's GS Junior and GS FLX Plus systems, as well as a number of forthcoming devices.

It will help to accelerate the upfront preparation of genomic samples, a time-consuming and complicated manual process within the sequencing workflow, speeding it up from several hours to a few minutes.

This also builds on the long-established relationship between Roche and PSS, which first started to collaborate on automated DNA extraction 15 years ago.

Dan Zabrowski, head of Roche Applied Science, said: "We are looking forward to working with PSS because they offer outstanding expertise and have a strong track record in developing fully automated solutions."

PSS is headquartered in Japan and is a leading provider of laboratory instruments for nucleic acid extraction, specialising in the development and production of automated technology.