Roche Diagnostics announces jury's decision in Igen litigation.

Roche to file an appeal. Court still to decide on status of license.

BASEL, SWITZERLAND (January 10, 2002) - Roche Diagnostics announced today that the jury in the United States District Court of Maryland has reached a decision in the litigation by Igen International, Inc. (Igen) over claims related to licensing Igen's electrochemiluminescence (ECL) technology to Roche Diagnostics GmbH.

Roche Diagnostics and previously Boehringer Mannheim have been in litigation since 1997 over claims arising out of a license and technology development agreement between Boehringer Mannheim and Igen. Under the agreement, Igen licensed to Boehringer Mannheim its ECL technology. Roche completed the acquisition of Boehringer Mannheim when the litigation was already in process.

The jury concluded that Roche Diagnostics GmbH breached various provisions of its license agreement, and engaged in unfair competition against Igen in connection to an unrelated patent infringement lawsuit in Delaware, which has been already resolved. The jury concluded that several breaches of the license agreement were material so that the court could allow Igen to terminate the license agreement, and awarded Igen $105.4 million in compensatory damages and $400 million in punitive damages. The total damages including the potential loss of the licences are significantly below the highly speculative estimates previously this discussed in the market.

Roche Diagnostics is evaluating the details of the verdict and will file an appeal. An existing order of the court bars any license termination until all appeal proceedings are completed. While any appeal is in progress, Roche Diagnostics will continue to provide its customers with the products and services and will drive forward all planned innovations based on the ECL technology.

"We recognize that this was a complicated case, but we are particularly pleased with the jury finding that Roche Diagnostics applied its best efforts in the areas of Elecsys immunoassays and DNA assays development. We will file an appeal and are confident that we will ultimately reach a resolution that will ensure our customers to have long-term, reliable access to the products covered by the licensing agreement" said Heino von Prondzynski, Member of the Executive Committee of Roche and Head of the Diagnostics Division.

Because the license will remain in place until a final legal resolution is reached, Roche Diagnostics will continue to develop new assays for the Elecsys systems, including new cardiac markers such as proBNP, which enables very early detection of heart failure. Additionally, the company will continue marketing the instruments and assays covered by the agreement. Efforts will include a focus on the marketing of the recently introduced E170 system, which is the first serum work area module in the market combining high turnover immunochemistry with clinical chemistry.

When acquiring Boehringer Mannheim, Roche assessed the Igen litigation and the adequacy of the provision recorded. Roche is currently reviewing the verdict from the jury trial and reassessing the adequacy of this provision taking into account Roche's decision to appeal.

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 innovative products and services address needs for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, thus enhancing people's well-being and quality of life. Through the company's Diagnostics Division, innovative testing products and services are made available to physicians, patients, hospitals and laboratories worldwide. Centralized Diagnostics, a business area of Roche Diagnostics, has been a pioneer in laboratory diagnostics with over 50 years of innovative development in clinical chemistry, automated diagnostic systems and immunochemistry. Today, Roche Centralized Diagnostics develops new technologies and supplies integrated solutions for clinical laboratories worldwide - all designed to help customers provide a better service more efficiently and at lower cost.

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