ROCHE DIAGNOSTICS SECURES GLUCOSE MONITORING AGREEMENT WITH NOVATION

Indianapolis, Indiana (October 16, 2001) - Roche Diagnostics announces that it has been awarded a contract with Novation, the healthcare industry's largest supply chain management organization. Under the agreement, Roche will supply glucose monitoring products to the more than 2,300 VHA Inc. and University Health System Consortium (UHC) hospitals and healthcare facilities served by Novation.

The contract is for a three-year period beginning October 1, 2001, and ending September 30, 2004, with two one-year renewal options, at the discretion of Novation. The agreement covers Roche's Accu-Chek™ blood glucose monitors, test strips, connectivity solutions and data management systems.

"This agreement strengthens our glucose monitoring portfolio for VHA and UHC members," said Mark McKenna, president of Novation. "Roche is focused on the factors we consider critical to the success of these members, namely member satisfaction,
e-commerce, and standardization and utilization."

Glucose monitoring is a widely accepted method of managing diabetes and is used to control diabetes and prevent diabetes side effects. Roche offers simple, reliable test systems for use in the hospital, the doctor's office, or the patient's home. These products provide essential information at the point of care to nurses, doctors and patients for the management of chronic conditions and the prevention of late complications.

"Roche is an industry leader in glucose monitoring market share and technology development," said Sherry Dobis, Novation Lab Program Director. "Roche offers our members a full range of products for both acute and non-acute care."

"This is our first national contract with Novation, and we are delighted with this opportunity to work with them in building a strategic business partnership," said Martin Madaus, president and CEO of Roche Diagnostics Corporation. "We share the commitment of supplying their VHA and UHC members with innovative products and services that allow healthcare professionals to help patients with diabetes manage the disease and improve the quality of their lives."

Based in Irving, Texas, Novation was established in January 1998 through a combination of the supply programs of VHA and UHC, two national healthcare alliances. Novation serves the purchasing needs of more than 2,300 members and affiliates of VHA and UHC. Novation also serves more than 5,400 members of HealthCare Purchasing Partners International (HPPI), another group purchasing organization owned by VHA and UHC. The largest supply chain management company in healthcare, Novation manages more than $17 billion in annual purchases for VHA, UHC and HPPI members. For more information, go to www.novationco.com.

VHA, also based in Irving, is a nationwide network of more than 2,200 leading community-owned healthcare organizations and their physicians. It comprises 26% of the nation's community hospitals. For more information, contact www.vha.com. UHC, based in Oak Brook, Ill., and representing 70% of the academic medical centers in the United States, is an alliance of 87 academic medical centers and 102 associate members. For more information, contact www.uhc.edu. HPPI, an Irving, Texas-based group purchasing organization that manages more than $1 billion in annual purchases, markets its services to organizations that do not belong to VHA or UHC. For more information, contact www.hppigpo.com.

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's Diagnostics Division supplies a wide array of innovative testing products and services to researchers, physicians, patients, hospitals and laboratories worldwide. Roche's website is located at www.roche.com.

ACCU-CHEK is a trademark of a member of the Roche Group.