Indianapolis, Ind., January 21, 2004

Roche Diagnostics Donates $1.5 Million Worth of Accu-Chek® Products to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Contribution Will Be Included in JDRF Bags of Hope and Teen Pak Programs

Roche Diagnostics today announced that the company will provide approximately $1.5 million in in-kind donations of its Accu-Chek Compact® blood glucose meters and Accu-Chek® Softclix® Lancet devices to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF), the leading charitable funder and advocate of diabetes research worldwide. The Accu-Chek products and educational literature will be included in the JDRF Bags of Hope and JDRF Teen Paks for 2004 in the US. These bags contain a collection of encouraging and educational materials for newly diagnosed children with diabetes and their families.

In most cases, the JDRF Bags of Hope and Teen Paks are delivered by a JDRF volunteer in person to a newly-diagnosed child and his/her family. The bags contain a variety of educational and comforting support materials - video, children's books, teddy bears; while the paks include educational materials geared to the issues and concerns specific to teens and their families.

"The JDRF Bags of Hope program is an incredible support system for newly-diagnosed children, and Roche Diagnostics is proud to sponsor such an important initiative," said Martin Madaus, President and CEO, Roche Diagnostics Corporation. "We are committed to helping children with diabetes and their families manage their disease, maximize quality of life, and minimize long-term health challenges. This outreach program allows us to provide them with a simple-to-use meter that will allow for testing anytime and anywhere."

"We applaud the generosity of Roche Diagnostics," said Benita Shobe, Vice President of Development for JDRF. "Including the blood glucose monitors in the Bags of Hope for newly-diagnosed children is important, especially during this time of great uncertainty and transition for the child and the family. "

Roche Diagnostics Diabetes Care business area is the world's leading company in diabetes monitoring systems and services, with its Accu-Chek blood glucose meters, and is committed to making life better for those living with diabetes.

JDRF, the leading charitable funder and advocate of juvenile (type 1) diabetes research worldwide, was founded in 1970 by the parents of children with juvenile diabetes - a disease that strikes children suddenly, makes them insulin-dependent for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications. Since inception, JDRF has provided more than $680 million in direct funding to diabetes research. In a typical year, 80 percent of JDRF's expenditures directly support research and research-related education. JDRF's mission is constant: to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research.

About Roche Diabetes Care
Roche Diabetes Care has been a pioneer in the development of blood glucose monitoring systems and is a global leader in providing comprehensive diabetes care. This means offering people with diabetes innovative products and services reaching from blood glucose monitoring through data management to insulin delivery. For nearly 30 years, Diabetes Care has been committed to making living easier for people with diabetes and healthcare professionals by providing innovative products and services which make diabetes management easier, more effective and cost efficient.

About Roche and the Roche Diagnostics Division
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's leading innovation-driven healthcare groups. Its core businesses are pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is number one in the global diagnostics market, the leading supplier of pharmaceuticals for cancer and a leader in virology and transplantation. As a supplier of products and services for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people's health and quality of life. Roche employs roughly 65,000 people in 150 countries. The Group has alliances and research and development agreements with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai. Roche's Diagnostics Division, the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics with a uniquely broad product portfolio, supplies a wide array of innovative testing products and services to researchers, physicians, patients, hospitals and laboratories world-wide. Roche Diagnostics' North American headquarters are in Indianapolis, Indiana (www.roche-diagnostics.us). For further information, please visit our websites www.roche.com and www.roche-diagnostics.com.

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