PALO ALTO, Calif. -- June 21, 2001--Roche announced today that it plans to transfer the viral diseases research formerly conducted in Welwyn, UK, to its research center in Palo Alto, Calif. This follows the company's recent announcement regarding plans to discontinue its research activities at the UK site in Welwyn.

The new virology research unit will employ a group of highly skilled senior research staff, including some of the project leaders from Welwyn. This will further strengthen the already highly productive Roche Bioscience site in Palo Alto, which is focused on the discovery and early clinical development of new medicines to treat diseases in the areas of inflammation, respiratory diseases, bone disorders, neurobiology and genitourinary diseases. In addition, this move will create opportunities for synergies between marketing and research in the U.S. and the company's diagnostic viral test unit, Roche Molecular Systems, in Pleasanton, Calif.

"Roche has over the years paved the way for a number of significant breakthroughs in the fight against AIDS, among the most notable is the first protease inhibitor, Invirase/Fortovase® (saquinavir), and the leading treatment for CMV retinitis, Valcyte® (valganciclovir)," stated Jonathan Knowles, president of Roche Pharma Research. "The relocation of this productive research to Palo Alto positions Roche to continue to create important new medicines in the fight against viral diseases. This step reinforces Roche's commitment to maintain its strong presence in the areas of influenza, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis through our own R&D efforts and through key strategic alliances."

"We are pleased with the addition of viral diseases research programs as this will allow us to create significant synergies with our strong work in immunology and inflammation," said James N. Woody, M.D., president of Roche Bioscience. "There are additional synergies to be gained from interactions with many the outstanding academic and biotech researchers in the Bay Area.

Viral diseases are one of the key areas of focus of Roche. The company is strongly represented in the anti-viral area and sees significant opportunity for research, development and marketing, particularly in the areas of influenza, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. Roche’s key advances in this area are:

• Influenza: Tamiflu® (oseltamivir phosphate), the influenza antiviral co-developed with Gilead Sciences Inc., is marketed for the treatment of influenza in many countries around the world. Tamiflu is also approved for the prevention of influenza and for pediatrics use in the US.

About Roche
Located in Palo Alto, Calif., Roche Bioscience is one of the company's five pharmaceutical research centers. Here scientists focus on the discovery and early clinical development of innovative new medicines to treat diseases including arthritis, asthma and other respiratory diseases; anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric diseases; genitourinary diseases and osteoporosis. Roche has five global pharmaceutical research centers: Basel (Switzerland), Kamakura (Japan), Nutley (New Jersey, USA), Palo Alto (California, USA), and Penzberg (Germany). Roche's research and development units employ approximately 7,000 people world-wide and the company invests nearly 4 billion Swiss francs annually in research and development. For more information on Roche, access our global website at http://www.roche.com or the U.S. pharmaceuticals website at http://www.rocheusa.com.

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