Molecular diagnostics

Experience a new level of lab testing with the Molecular Work Area from Roche.


Lab technicians working on Roches cobas Systems for centralized testing to improve operational efficiency

Roche’s Molecular Work Area: Redefining centralized and decentralized lab testing

Roche’s Molecular Work Area is built around the ground-breaking cobas® 5800/6800/8800 systems, cobas® prime pre-analytic system, along with their broad and flexible molecular cobas® assay menu, and suite of navify® digital laboratory solutions. Additional standalone solutions for automation and connectivity can be added over time, allowing you to move and grow at your own pace. These components are designed to deliver maximum value to both centralized and decentralized labs, accommodating varying sizes and testing needs.

The Molecular Work Area is envisioned to consolidate and automate greater than 90%* of a molecular laboratory’s non-urgent, routine testing. Each solution plays a part in delivering scalable capacity without increased effort. Optimizing testing with Roche’s cobas® 5800/6800/8800 systems can help ensure the right test to the right patient at the right time to eliminate potentially avoidable complications.

To help you fully realize your laboratory transformation, Roche Healthcare Consultants provide expert support at every stage of the journey. Start your journey towards a simple, efficient, and consolidated future.

Featured products

The cobas® 5800 System makes automation, consolidation, integration and standardization more accessible than ever before.
Embrace the future of molecular testing with proven PCR performance. Learn about the cobas® 6800 System’s broad menu of high-quality assays, including HIV, HPV, CT/NG, Hepatitis, CMV, WNV, respiratory infections, and more!
The industry’s leading instruments converge to form a single solution that transforms your operation into a laboratory of the future. This fully automated system consolidates, integrates and standardizes the pre-analytical process to streamline lab operations.

Benefits of molecular centralized lab testing solutions from Roche

Proven performance with trusted and reproducible results

The Molecular Work Area is in operation across five continents, delivering consolidated testing, increased efficiency, and up to 10 million trusted, reproducible results every month.

Enjoy a seamless and fast transition to cobas® 5800/6800/8800 systems and bring unrivaled efficiency to your lab and your customers.

Absolute automation increases efficiency and productivity

Improve operations with cobas® 5800/6800/8800 systems and achieve fast time to results with the highest throughput and the longest walkaway time—up to eight hours with cobas® 5800 and 6800 systems and up to four hours on the cobas® 8800 system.** Automation gives you the freedom of only two manual interactions: load samples, consumables, and reagents, then empty waste and release results.

  • Ready-to-use reagents require no thawing, mixing, or pouring
  • Full sample traceability via radio-frequency identification (RFID) and barcodes
  • Intuitive interactions and low hands-on time minimize human error

Our portfolio of standalone and connected automation solutions allows lab technicians to work on higher-level challenges and opportunities within the laboratory. From cross-contamination compliant pre-analytical systems to simple and secure archiving with post-analytical units, the Molecular Work Area brings new levels of efficiency to labs of all sizes and disciplines.

Leveraging molecular systems with pre- and post-analytical solutions from a single provider like Roche enables a simplified, streamlined workflow. This dramatically eliminates the direct interaction of the operator with the sample, allowing laboratory staff the flexibility and freedom to focus on higher-level challenges and opportunities instead of repetitive manual tasks.

Unmatched flexibility helps meet your changing demands

The Molecular Work Area is designed to meet your specific laboratory needs, today and in the future. The broad assay menu of the cobas® 5800/6800/8800 systems makes consolidating testing easier than ever before.

  • Perform up to six tests in the same run with no pre-sorting required
  • Process up to three different tests from a single patient sample
  • Handle urgent samples quickly and easily with a dedicated priority lane

Expand the broad testing menu with the cobas® omni Utility Channel. Adding other assays to this open channel brings the overall workflow efficiencies of IVD tests to other test types, further elevating the value your lab delivers.

Experience complete connectivity—only available from Roche

Our data connectivity and insight solutions from navify® provide you with complete connectivity to your laboratory systems. navify Lab Operations integrates the entire sample flow on a single solution enabling intelligent and adaptive workflows that allow for adjustments to the changing needs of your lab. navify Analytics automates the collection and visualization of testing data to provide actionable insights into volume optimization, error reduction and positivity rates, which means you can observe testing trends and optimize lab processes accordingly.

Automated and integrated PCR-based nucleic acid testing systems comparison overview

cobas® 5800 system
cobas® 6800 System
cobas® 8800 System
Maximum throughput†
Up to 144 results in 8 hours. Up to 528 in 24 hours
Up to 576 in 8 hours. Up to 2,112 in 24 hours
Up to 1,056 in 8 hours. Up to 4,128 in 24 hours
Walkaway time‡
Up to 4 hours
Up to 4 hours
Up to 4 hours
Maximum number of tests per run
24 tests
96 tests
96 tests
Assay reagent cassettes
Up to 15
Up to 12
Up to 12

May vary based on workflow demands

Walkaway time is dependent on the number of tests performed and the number of runs initiated

Automated and integrated PCR-based nucleic acid testing systems comparison overview

View Full Table

Automated and integrated PCR-based nucleic acid testing systems comparison overview

  cobas® 5800 system cobas® 6800 system cobas® 8800 system
Maximum throughput† Up to 144 results in 8 hours. Up to 528 in 24 hours Up to 384 in 8 hours. Up to 1,344 in 24 hours Up to 960 in 8 hours. Up to 3,072 in 24 hours
Walkaway time‡ Up to 8 hours Up to 8 hours Up to 4 hours
Maximum number of tests per run 24 tests including controls 96 tests including controls 96 tests including controls
Assay reagent cassettes Up to 15 Up to 12 Up to 12
†May vary based on workflow demands
‡Walkaway time is dependent on the number of tests performed and the number of runs initiated

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* May vary based on assay availability in your country.

** May vary based on workflow demands.