Basel , 30 December 2004

Roche support for victims of the tsunami disaster in Asia
Donation of antibacterial and antibiotic medicines

Roche has decided to donate antibacterial and antibiotic medicines for – depending upon usage – up to 80,000 patients affected by the tsunami disaster.

The donation comes in addition to the immediate medical and financial support given by the local Roche affiliates in these countries. The decision is based on a careful assessment of the medical needs and logistic hurdles by the local Roche affiliates in close contact with their local authorities and locally active aid organizations.

As a first reaction, Roche reserved yesterday all available stocks of Bactrim (sulfamethoxazole plus trimethoprim) and Rocephin (ceftriaxone) at the Headquarters in Basel to support emergency healthcare delivery in the affected countries in Asia . A total of 220,000 packs are being donated. The medicines are being made available to an international aid organization. This globally active organization. will co-ordinate the delivery in the affected countries and will ensure a responsible usage of the donation.

About Roche

Headquartered in Basel , Switzerland , Roche is one of the world's leading research-intensive healthcare groups. Its core businesses are pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As a supplier of innovative 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 is a world leader in Diagnostics, the leading supplier of medicines for cancer and transplantation and a market leader in virology.

Roche concentrates its humanitarian aid efforts on developing and maintaining sustainable healthcare delivery for needy people in the poorest countries of the world - medical care which takes account of local needs and infrastructure and equips communities over the long term to prevent diseases, instead of having to cure them. Roche is prepared to contribute by providing medical know-how and, where appropriate, its own products and services, as long as the local authorities and any other partners are actively committed to making the essential infrastructure available.

For further information:

- Roche's social commitment: www.roche.com/home/sustainability/sus_soc/sus_soc_coop.htm