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{\pard\sa900\fs50\f0\i Media Release\par}
{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 Basel, 15 December 2003 \line \line {\b Roche 
reports on two major achievements in Japan, the world's second largest pharmaceuticals market} \line Chugai 
and Roche sign licensing agreement for anti-cancer drugs Avastin and Omnitarg in Japan - Pegasys reimbursement 
achieved and launched in Japan\par}{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 Roche and Chugai Pharmaceutical 
Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, (\u8220?Chugai\u8221?) announced today two major achievements that will further strengthen 
the Roche Group\u8217?s position in the important Japanese market \u8211? a new licensing agreement for two innovative 
cancer drugs and the launch of Pegasys for hepatitis C. \par}{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 {\b Licencing 
Agreement for Cancer Drugs} \line 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. \par}{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 \u8220?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\u8221? said William 
M Burns, Head of Roche\u8217?s Pharmaceutical Division. \u8220?The addition of these two drugs to Chugai\u8217?s portfolio 
will also further strengthen our position in Japan, the world\u8217?s second largest pharmaceuticals market.\u8221?\par}{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 {\b About 
Avastin} \line Avastin \u8211? 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. \par}{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 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. \par}{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 {\b About 
Omnitarg} \line 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.\line \line 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. \par}{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 {\b Product Launch and 
NHI Drug Price Listing of Pegasys in Japan } \line 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. 
\par}{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 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\u8217?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. \par}{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 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. \par}{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 {\b About 
Roche} \line Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world\u8217?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\u8217?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. \par}{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 {\b About Chugai} \line Chugai 
Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is one of Japan\u8217?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. \line 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\u8217?s strengths in the oncology field are further enhanced, and will greatly contribute to the field 
of cancer treatment. \par}{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 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. \par}{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 {\b About 
Genentech} \line 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 (http://www.gene.com).\par}
{\pard \par}
{\pard\sb180\f1\fs22 {\b F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd}\line 4070 Basel\line Switzerland \par}
{\pard\sb180\f1\fs22 Corporate Communications\line Roche Group Media Relations \par}
{\pard\sb180\f1\fs22 Tel. +41 61 688 88 88\line Fax +41 61 688 27 75\line www.roche.com \par}
}