Basel , Switzerland and Waltham, MA, USA, May 18, 2004

Roche Diagnostics grants Nonexclusive Rights in the area of Point of Care testing for a Key Cardiac Marker, NT-proBNP to Inverness Medical Innovations
Agreement expands availability of unique heart failure marker that aids in earlier diagnosis and thus improves treatment

Roche Diagnostics announced that Inverness Medical Innovations has been granted a nonexclusive license for Point of Care testing under patent rights of Roche Diagnostics relating to the development, manufacturing and marketing of immunoassays that detect a key marker of congestive heart failure (CHF), NT-proBNP (N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide). The option rights were granted as part of a 2003 settlement between the companies with respect to Inverness' rapid assay lateral flow patents.

The rapid availability of reliable test results in terms of ruling out heart failure patients within minutes is a vital diagnostic device at the Point of Care, where every minute counts.

"From a patient's as well as from a physician's perspective NT-proBNP is a fantastic diagnostic tool. By licensing it broadly the benefit of this product to the patients, the medical community and our shareholders will be maximized. Inverness Medical Innovations is an important partner because of their current development efforts in the area of rapid immunoassay testing" said Harald Stock, PhD., Senior Vice President of Roche Near Patient Testing.

About NT-proBNP and Heart Failure
B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is secreted by the left ventricle when the heart is unable to pump blood efficiently. BNP dilates blood vessels and promotes sodium and water loss, reducing fluid load on the heart and improving cardiac performance. Synthetic BNP, marketed as Natrecor® (nesiritide), is a treatment for heart failure. Thus, measuring BNP does not necessarily allow the physician to differentiate between elevated BNP levels due to drug treatment and elevated BNP due to ventricular dysfunction.

By contrast, NT-proBNP, which is released when BNP is cleaved from its precursor proBNP, has no interference with such a treatment. Elevated plasma NT-proBNP aid in the diagnosis of heart failure and provides information about its severity: the higher the blood level of NT-proBNP, the more serious the condition. NT-proBNP levels have been demonstrated to be a diagnostic aid in ruling out left ventricular dysfunction, allowing physicians to differentiate between heart failure and lung disorders with similar symptoms. The test is further indicated for the risk stratification of patients with acute coronary syndrome and congestive heart failure.

According to the American Heart Association, 4.8 million Americans are afflicted with CHF, with 550,000 cases diagnosed each year. There are a number of ca uses of the disease: the most important are coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, inflammation and intoxications. Significantly, heart failure is the leading cause of Medicare hospitalization in the US, accounting for 18 billion dollars per year in direct costs.

Prevalence of heart failure is expected to continue to rise, due to the aging population and increase in acute coronary syndrome survival. Heart failure is often difficult to diagnose, since its symptoms are nonspecific and are sometimes confused with those of other conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Echocardiography, the currently used standard for diagnosis of left ventricular dysfunction, is expensive and not always easily accessible.

About Inverness Medical Innovations
Inverness Medical Innovations is a leading provider of women's health and other consumer and point-of-care health products and a developer of advanced technologies for both the consumer and professional diagnostic marketplaces. Inverness is presently exploring new opportunities for its proprietary electrochemical and other technologies in a variety of consumer oriented applications including immuno-diagnostics with a focus on women's health and cardiology. Inverness is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Find further details about Inverness Medical Innovations under http://www.invernessmedical.com/

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.

Near Patient Testing, headquartered in Graz, Austria, brings the laboratory to the patient by offering a broad range of simple and reliable point of care systems. The product range consists of cardiac markers, blood gas and electrolyte analysis, coagulation, urinalysis, clinical chemistry, immunological tests and convenient connectivity solutions for use in the hospital, the physician's office or at home. For further information, please visit our websites www.roche.com and www.roche-diagnostics.com.

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