Basel, 2 May 2005

FDA clears Roche’s new Accu-Chek Aviva blood glucose meter

Accu-Chek Aviva combines dependability and ease of use to help in the management of diabetes

Roche Diagnostics announced today that it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510K clearance for the Accu-Chek Aviva meter, its newest blood glucose meter for the management of diabetes. The meter will be available for consumers in the US later this year.

“The new Accu-Chek Aviva meter has a strong combination of features paired with the dependability and ease of use that our customers have come to expect from Accu-Chek products,” said Heino von Prondzynski, CEO Division Roche Diagnostics and Member of Roche’s Corporate Executive Committee. “As the world’s leader in diabetes care products and services, we are dedicated to making products that will fit into the lifestyles of our customers. The Accu-Chek Aviva meter offers people with diabetes a meter that makes testing simple and convenient, and underscores our commitment of creating solutions for easier diabetes management.”

Since consistent blood glucose monitoring is critical for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, the new Accu-Chek Aviva meter is part of a broad portfolio of diabetes management tools developed by Roche Diagnostics to meet the diverse needs of people with diabetes. These tools include the blood glucose monitoring portfolio of Accu-Chek Compact, Accu-Chek Advantage, Accu-Chek Active and Accu-Chek Complete meters, as well as the Accu-Chek MultiClix lancet device and Accu-Chek SoftClix lancet device, which helps minimize testing pain. In addition, Accu-Chek diabetes management software also is available for convenient data entry and storage. Further information is available on the Internet (www.accu-chek.com).

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 (www.roche.com).
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Additional information
- Roche Diagnostics: www.roche-diagnostics.com