Indianapolis, Ind, and Nutley, N.J., January 10, 2005

Roche Named One of FORTUNE's 100 Best Companies to Work For 2005 in America
Company Debuts on the Prestigious List at 97

Roche announced today that it has been named to FORTUNE magazine's 2005 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For in America. This marks the first time the company, which celebrates its U.S. centennial this year, has made the FORTUNE list. Roche, whose core businesses are diagnostics and pharmaceutics, ranked number 97. More information about the FORTUNE list can be found in the magazine, which will be on newsstands January 17, 2005, or online at www.fortune.com today.

“Our people are the heart of our business,” said Patti Ayars, Vice President of Human Resources and Corporate Communications, Roche Diagnostics . “Roche is proud that we have created an environment where everyone can make a unique and valued contribution, continually develop their capabilities and be appreciated and rewarded for their individual and collective contributions.”

Also commenting on the company's inclusion on the list of best places to work, Stephen Grossman, Vice President, Human Resources at Roche's pharmaceuticals division in Nutley , N.J. , noted, “ Roche has a unique focus on people, performance and leadership . As a leading pharmaceutical company and the number one in vitro diagnostics company in the United States , we are only able to maintain our leadership position by the high-performing people in our organization. Roche is honored to be a part of this prestigious list of companies, and I'd like to thank our people in the United States for achieving such a remarkable commendation.”

"From the moment that I first walked down the halls of Roche Diagnostics and experienced the enthusiasm, pride and sense of purpose here, I knew this was a special place," said Brian Hill, principal scientist, Roche Diagnostics, Diabetes Care.   "The atmosphere is warm, but we also know our work supports research, diagnosis and disease management across the globe - our products help millions of people every day.  We learn, share and innovate together - it's an extraordinary company and working environment."

“As a 20-year employee with Roche and a working mother, maintaining a balance between my work and home life has been very important,” noted Marie McMahon-Takesh, manager, Dining Services and Employee Sales Operations at Roche's pharmaceuticals division in New Jersey . “I feel very fortunate that Roche offers an array of benefits, which enabled me to progress from a work-study student to my current position as manager and to utilize several programs such as tuition reimbursement, job-sharing and on-site child care.”

Selection Criteria

According to FORTUNE, the two most important factors in selecting companies for the list include FORTUNE's evaluation of the policies and culture of each company, and the opinions of the company's own employees. FORTUNE gives the latter more weight: Two-thirds of the total score comes from employee responses to a 57-question survey created by the Great Place to Work Institute in San Francisco . The survey goes to a minimum of 350 randomly selected employees from each company and asks about things such as attitudes toward management, job satisfaction, and camaraderie. The remaining one-third of the score comes from FORTUNE's evaluation of each company's demographic makeup, pay and benefits programs, and the like. Companies are scored in four areas: credibility (communication to employees), respect (opportunities and benefits), fairness (compensation, diversity), and pride/camaraderie (philanthropy, celebrations). About 1,000 companies contacted FORTUNE or were recruited to participate in the survey; of those, 356 completed the exhaustive survey process.

About Roche

Founded in 1896 and 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 one of the world's leaders in diagnostics, the leading supplier of pharmaceuticals for cancer, as well as 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 many fronts to improve people's health and quality of life. Roche employs roughly 65,000 people in 150 countries, including approximately 15,000 in the United States .

Roche's U.S. operations celebrate their American Centennial in 2005. One of an increasingly rare breed of major healthcare companies that still bear their original name, Roche today has more than a dozen U.S. sites located in California, Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey and South Carolina, as well as in Puerto Rico. Roche has alliances and research and development agreements with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai. Roche's Pharmaceuticals Division offers a portfolio of leading medicines in therapeutic areas including cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, transplantation, dermatology and influenza. Roche's Diagnostics Division 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 U.S. websites (www.roche-diagnostics.us , www.rocheusa.com or www.roche.us)

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