"With the ASCEND program, we are raising the bar for the healthcare supply chain, and we're presenting members with a purchasing portfolio that offers the best value proposition in the industry," said Mike Alkire, president of Premier Purchasing Partners. "Members that commit to doing 80 percent of their business with all Premier ASCEND contractors have access to special pricing and to exclusive benefits, including benchmarking to help them measure their performance and identify opportunities to reduce operating costs." Roche was selected as the single supplier for the ASCEND program in the blood glucose category.

Roche products covered by the glucose contracts include the ACCU-CHEK?® Inform and ACCU-CHEK Aviva blood glucose monitoring systems, test strips and lancets, RALS?® information management solutions and 24/7/365 customer service. The clinical chemistry/immunoassay contract includes Roche's full line of laboratory analyzers, such as the integrated cobas?® 6000 analyzer series, as well as automation systems, reagents, middleware and technical service. The three-year contracts for blood glucose and clinical chemistry/immunoassay products are effective March 1 and April 1, respectively.

SOURCE Roche Diagnostics