Local Public Schools Introduce New Roche Genetics Education Tool

Palo Alto, Calif. November 5, 2003 --Teen hallway chatter at public schools this fall may shift from jeans and fashion trends to genes and hereditary factors that surpass even body piercings and tattoos in distinguishing one's truly unique identity. With the help of a new interactive genetics education program from Roche, the global healthcare company, educators now have a teaching tool that helps high school students understand the role that heredity plays in establishing the course of their health over a lifetime, thus enabling them to consider life style choices that can have a real influence on their long-term health and quality of life. The program, consisting of the Roche Genetics CD ROM and Teachers Manual, is geared toward high school educators and available free from the company.

The Roche program lets students see how genetics applies to their daily lives,” said Geri Horsma, biology teacher, Gunn High School, Palo Alto, Calif. “It engages them. Students learn more with their hands and body – and then the brain follows. If they can do experiments that mimic what they see on TV shows like ‘CSI’ or in the latest celebrity trial, then the science comes alive and a whole new world is opened up to them.”

The new Genetics Education Program, introduced this semester in Bay Area schools, was designed by a group of educators from across the United States working in cooperation with Roche, which sponsored the effort. Roche partnered with the Bay Area Biotechnology Education Consortium (BABEC) to pilot the program, which provides a resource for teachers to introduce the subject of genetics through a CD ROM and accompanying teachers manual.

As the topic of genetics becomes increasingly present in the news and more likely to impact the future of healthcare for young and old alike, Roche has provided educators with a much-needed curriculum to address genetics education in schools. In rapidly evolving areas such as genetics, science textbooks and workbooks can quickly become outdated, potentially leaving students with an incomplete understanding of scientific concepts, such as the interrelation between genetics and personal health.

“As a leader in the discovery and development of diagnostics and medicines that rely on genetic knowledge to understand the roots of disease, Roche is proud to have made this education program available to help teachers and students,” said Gary Peltz, head of genetics and genomics, Roche Palo Alto. “Our future as a healthcare innovator depends on bright young people who have been well-trained in the science of genetics, in addition to providing this program to help students learn about this important field, we also hope it stimulates their interest in careers in the biomedical sciences.”

The Genetics Education CD ROM equips science teachers with information they can use in the classroom to help bring to life the benefits of genetics education. The CD is organized into self-guided tours through the topic of genetics. With computer animation and streaming video accompanied by voiceover content, educators can provide students at various levels with an understanding of the genetics behind disease and its prevention.

Highlights of the Genetics Education Program include:

• Introduction to genetics
• An overview of how healthcare providers can identify genes associated with certain diseases and disorders and, as a result, determine patient susceptibility to disease and strategies for managing risk factors
• An introduction to pharmacogenetics, an important emerging field involving the development of individualized medicines to treat specific diseases by targeting specific genes
• Discussion of ethical, legal and social issues involved in genetics
• Careers in genetics

“Our partnership with Roche on this project is unique and can serve as a model for other companies,” said Katy Korsmeyer Ph.D., program director for the Santa Clara County Biotechnology Education Partnership and a member of the BABEC Board of Directors. “Roche has supplied this much-needed resource. It’s these kinds of tools we strive to get into teachers hands.”

The Roche Genetics Education Program CDROM and Teachers Manual may be ordered by visiting paloalto.roche.com.

About Roche

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 approximately 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.

The 1,000 women and men at the Roche Palo Alto research center in Palo Alto, Calif., are focused on the discovery and early clinical development of innovative medicines to treat diseases in the following areas: arthritis, asthma and other respiratory diseases; anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and other psychiatric diseases; genitourinary diseases, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis C.

Following are URLs for Roche on the web:
Global website: www.roche.com.
U.S. pharmaceuticals business: www.rocheusa.com.
Roche Palo Alto: http://paloalto.roche.com.