Basel, Switzerland and Raritan, New Jersey, June 28, 2004

Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, a Johnson & Johnson Company, Acquires Nonexclusive Rights to a Key Cardiac Marker, NT-proBNP, from Roche Diagnostics
Agreement further widens access to unique marker for heart failure and acute coronary syndrome

Roche Diagnostics and Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics announced today that Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, a Johnson & Johnson company, has been granted a nonexclusive license under patent rights of Roche Diagnostics relating to the development, manufacture and marketing of immunoassays that detect a key marker of congestive heart failure (CHF), NT-proBNP (N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide).

"We feel that NT-proBNP is a unique diagnostic and prognostic tool, and may have important implications for the management of CHF. Licensing it broadly will help us to maximize the benefit of this innovative cardiac assay to the patients, the medical community and our shareholders. Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, a Johnson & Johnson company, is an important partner because of its expertise in cardiac testing," said Heino von Prondzynski, Head of Roche Diagnostics and a member of Roche's Corporate Executive Committee.

B-type natriuretic peptide is secreted primarily from the left ventricle in response to pressure overload and regulates blood pressure, electrolyte balance and fluid volume. NT-proBNP provides objective diagnostic information that helps distinguish CHF from other disease states with similar clinical symptoms, for instance lung ailments. It has the potential to detect early stages of CHF in the absence of clinically obvious symptoms. In addition it can be used as a predictor of patient prognosis for patients with CHF and for patients who have previously had a myocardial infarction. NT-proBNP is cleaved from the precursor peptide proBNP in quantities directly proportional with its biologically active counterpart BNP and in close correlation with the severity of heart failure. Unlike BNP, the measurement of NT-proBNP is not affected by therapy with Natrecor® (nesiritide), a synthetic form of BNP used in the treatment of 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 causes of the disease: the most important are coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, inflammation and alcohol abuse.. Significantly, heart failure is the leading cause of Medicare hospitalization in the US, both primary hospitalization and readmissions, 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 with dyspnea as a primary symptom, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, myocardial infarction or emotional distress. Echocardiography, the currently used standard for diagnosis of left ventricular dysfunction, is expensive and not always easily accessible.

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. For further information, please visit our websites www.roche.com and www.roche-diagnostics.com.