Media Release

Basel, 15 December 2003

Roche reports on two major achievements in Japan, the world's second largest pharmaceuticals market
Chugai and Roche sign licensing agreement for anti-cancer drugs Avastin and Omnitarg in Japan - Pegasys reimbursement achieved and launched in Japan

Roche and Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, (“Chugai”) announced today two major achievements that will further strengthen the Roche Group’s position in the important Japanese market – a new licensing agreement for two innovative cancer drugs and the launch of Pegasys for hepatitis C.

Licencing Agreement for Cancer Drugs
Roche and Chugai have signed a licensing agreement under which Chugai will obtain exclusive rights in Japan to develop and market two innovative anti-cancer drugs, Avastin (bevacizumab), and Omnitarg (pertuzumab), both discovered by Genentech, USA. Chugai will pay license fees to Roche for the two drugs. Roche holds the exclusive rights outside the US and Genentech in the US.

“There are approximately 1,3 million people in Japan who suffer from various cancers , hence the huge need for new and better medicines. We believe that Avastin and Omnitarg represent an important step forward in the fight to treat cancer” said William M Burns, Head of Roche’s Pharmaceutical Division. “The addition of these two drugs to Chugai’s portfolio will also further strengthen our position in Japan, the world’s second largest pharmaceuticals market.”

About Avastin
Avastin – a recombinant humanized therapeutic antibody - inhibits Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), a protein that is believed to play an important role in tumor angiogenesis. By inhibiting VEGF, Avastin interferes with the blood supply to tumors, thereby inhibiting tumor growth and potentially leading to tumor regression. It represents a promising, novel anti-cancer approach with a broad potential in a number of solid tumors, and is likely to be complementary with current chemotherapy approaches.

Chugai plans to start phase I clinical trials for Avastin next year with an initial target indication of metastatic colorectal cancer. Avastin has been filed by Roche in Europe and Genentech in the United States, both submissions for colon cancer. It is also being evaluated as a potential therapy in lung, renal, and other cancers. Genentech and Roche are either planning for, or currently conducting clinical trials for indications other than colon cancer, and depending on the outcome, Chugai will seek for additional indications in Japan.

About Omnitarg
Omnitarg is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody which blocks the ability of human epidermal growth factor type 2 (HER2) receptor to partner with other HER receptor group members (HER1/EGFR, HER3, and HER4). As a result, cell signaling within cancer cells is blocked, which ultimately leads to cancer cell growth inhibition regardless of the HER2 expression.

Chugai plans to start phase I clinical trials for Omnitarg next year for the target indications of non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer and ovarian cancer. Omnitarg is currently under joint development by Genentech and Roche in the United States and Europe. In the United States, its safety has been confirmed in the phase I clinical trials and its efficacy has been shown in the patients studied. The phase II clinical trials have commenced for breast, non-small-cell lung, prostate, and ovarian cancers with low HER2 expression.

Product Launch and NHI Drug Price Listing of Pegasys in Japan
Chugai announced that it had launched Pegasys for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection, following its listing on the National Health Insurance (NHI) drug reimbursement price list. Pegasys was approved in Japan on October 16, 2003 under the fast track review process and was launched on December 12th 2003 just after a year from its filing.

In Japan about 400,000 to 500,000 people with hepatitis C infection have been on therapy and there are between 30,000 and 40,000 patients each year who receive interferon treatments for chronic hepatitis C infection. In addition to these numbers it is estimated that there are 1.5 million carriers of the hepatitis C virus. Pegasys is Japan’s first approved pegylated interferon and patients now have the option to choose an efficacious hepatitis C treatment with a more convenient once-weekly dosage.

Pegasys was developed by Roche and was approved in Switzerland in July 2001. Since then, it has been approved as a treatment for chronic hepatitis C in 86 counties including the EU and United States. In these countries, Pegasys has already gained significant market share (over 50% of new prescriptions in the US) due to its higher cure rates compared to conventional interferon therapy.

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 roughly 65,000 people in 150 countries. The Group has alliances and R&D agreements with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai.

About Chugai
Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is one of Japan’s leading research-based pharmaceutical companies with strengths in biotechnology products and in the therapeutic fields of oncology, renal diseases, cardiovascular diseases, bone/joint diseases and transplantation/infection/immunity. With pharmaceutical sales of 237 billion yen in 2002, Chugai has invested in research and development capabilities in the US and Europe, and has established sales and marketing operations in France, Germany and the UK. Chugai employs 5,774 employees world-wide.
Chugai has continued to contribute to the medical community by drawing on its strengths in oncology, which is one of its strategic therapeutic field, through its long-standing experience in the development and marketing of anti-cancer drugs such as Xeloda, Herceptin, Furtulon and Rituxan in addition to supportive treatments such as the G-CSF, Neutrogin and anti-emetic drug, Kytril. By adding the novel antibody drugs Avastin and Omnitarg to its anti-cancer product portfolio, Chugai’s strengths in the oncology field are further enhanced, and will greatly contribute to the field of cancer treatment.

These licensing events of the two drugs is the successful result of the collaboration between Chugai, Roche, and Genentech and Chugai will continue to contribute to the unmet needs of the medical community by creating innovative new drugs by uniting the research and development resources of the three companies.

About Genentech
Genentech is a leading biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes biotherapeutics for significant unmet medical needs. Sixteen of the currently approved biotechnology products originated from or are based on Genentech science. Genentech manufactures and commercializes 11 biotechnology products in the United States. The company has headquarters in South San Francisco, California and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DNA. For additional information about the company, please visit the Internet.