Roche Diagnostics Awarded 5-Year Chemistry, Immunoassay and Laboratory Automation Systems Contracts by Consorta, Inc.

Roche Diagnostics announced today that the company has been awarded two new contracts for automated chemistry and immunoassay systems and laboratory automation systems by Consorta, a leading health care resource management and group purchasing organization. Both five-year contracts are effective November 1, 2005 and are expected to have a total value in excess of $300 million.

“Consorta’s members need to have flexible solutions to enhance laboratory operations, and Roche Diagnostics can address these requests with a broad range of clinical chemistry, immunoassay and lab automation systems,” said Andrew Thomson, Senior Vice President, Centralized Diagnostics, Roche Diagnostics. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with Consorta and providing their members with automated laboratory solutions.”

Included in the automated chemistry and immunoassay contract are the COBAS Integra®, Elecsys®, and MODULAR ANALYTICS Systems, reagents, and supplies. The laboratory automation systems contract includes the Roche Diagnostics MODULAR PRE-ANALYTICS 3 Plus and 7 Plus Systems and Middleware Solutions.

Consorta, Inc., based in suburban Chicago, is a leading healthcare resource management and group purchasing organization, whose shareholders are faith based or non profit health systems. Consorta shareholders are among the leading integrators of non-profit health care in America, sponsoring significant care providers in many parts of the country. Consorta’s membership now encompasses more than 2,400 care sites, representing 78,000 patient care beds.

About Roche and the Roche Diagnostics Division

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. In 2004, the Pharmaceuticals Division generated 21.7 billion Swiss francs in prescription drug sales, while the Diagnostics Division posted sales of 7.8 billion Swiss francs. Roche employs roughly 65,000 people in 150 countries and has R&D agreements and strategic alliances with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai. Roche’s Diagnostics Division, 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 is located in Indianapolis, Ind. ((www.roche-diagnostics.us) For further information, please visit our websites www.roche.us and www.roche-diagnostics.com

ELECSYS, MODULAR, and COBAS INTEGRA are trademarks of Roche.

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