ROCHE DIAGNOSTICS E TOUR SEMINAR SERIES DEBUTS AT AACC

INDIANAPOLIS (August 1, 2001) - More than 250 attendees of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC) meeting participated in an evening seminar to celebrate the launch of the MODULAR® ANALYTICS E170 module. The event, held at the Swisshotel in Chicago on July 31, represents the first stop of a seven-city E tour to showcase the new E170 immunodiagnostics module and update laboratories on new developments in cardiac and tumor markers.

"The E tour, which began last evening, gave customers the opportunity to see firsthand the innovative approach Roche Diagnostics is taking to help laboratories improve productivity and efficiency," noted Chris Demiris, Marketing Manager, Immunoassay. "The E170 module fulfills our promise to integrate chemistry and immunodiagnostics to provide a total Serum WorkArea solution, and we are gratified by the enthusiastic response we received."

Among those in the audience was Dr. Gene Putz, lab director at NORDX, a reference laboratory affiliated with the Maine Medical Center (Portland, Maine and Scarborough, Maine). According to Dr. Putz, "If you load the specimens on one end, the system determines where they go and what's done with them, and it has repeat capabilities built in. Dynamite."

Also in the audience were representatives from the Nassau County Medical Center (East Meadow, New York), one of the first customers for the MODULAR ANALYTICS E170 module. "The MODULAR ANALYTICS system never goes down. We've had no problem mechanically. We've had no problem analytically," commented Sister Ann Melber, chief biochemist. "We really like this."

The next stops on the seven-city E tour are Boston, Dallas, Indianapolis, Miami, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Interested laboratories should contact their local Roche representative or call (800) 981-8863.

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's leading research-oriented healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and vitamins. Roche's products and services address prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, thus enhancing well-being and quality of life. Roche has approximately 64,000 employees and sells its products in over 170 countries. Roche's Diagnostics Division supplies a wide array of innovative testing products and services to researchers, physicians, patients, hospitals and laboratories worldwide. Roche Diagnostics Corporation, based in Indianapolis, is the North American headquarters for the diagnostics business of the company.