Investor Update

Basel, 29 June 2005

US Court of Appeals decides in favour of Roche on Empagran case

Roche announced today, that the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals decided on June 28 that U.S. courts have no jurisdiction in the United States of America to claims of foreign purchasers of vitamins.

This decision brings to an end an initiative (so called “Empagran case”) by non-US plaintiffs who wanted to bring claims in US courts under US anti-trust laws for alleged damages suffered from transactions outside the United States in connection with the vitamin case.

Gottlieb Keller, Head of Corporate Services and member of the Corporate Executive Committee stated: “We are satisfied by the decision of the Court of Appeals. We always felt strongly in our position. After the positive decision of the Supreme Court in June 2004 on 5 of 6 points, the Court of Appeals now also took a decision in favour of Roche on the remaining point.”

Background
On 17 January 2003 the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that non-US plaintiffs may bring claims in US courts under US anti-trust laws for alleged damages suffered from transactions outside the United States in connection with the vitamin case. The defendants, including Roche, had filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to review the case. Mid of June 2004 the Supreme Court of the United States decided unanimously that non-US plaintiffs in principle may not bring claims in US courts for alleged damages suffered from transactions outside the US. The Supreme Court stated further, that the lower court (Court of Appeals) had not addressed one argument (“alternative theory”) and that therefore plaintiffs remained free to ask the lower court to consider this argument.

About Roche
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As a supplier of innovative products and services for the early detection, 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 sales by the Pharmaceuticals Division totalled 21.7 billion Swiss francs, 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. Additional information about the Roche Group is available on the Internet.

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