Basel, 14 December 2005

Changes on Corporate Executive Committee and Board of Directors of Roche

Heino von Prondzynski, CEO Division Roche Diagnostics, has decided to retire from his executive functions in the course of next year in order to pursue personal interests. At its last meeting, the Board of Directors of Roche has appointed Severin Schwan as the new CEO Division Roche Diagnostics and as a member of the Corporate Executive Committee, effective 1 January, 2006. Severin Schwan is currently regional head Asia-Pacific of Roche Diagnostics.

Also, per 1 January, 2006, Burkhard G. Piper is appointed as a member of the Enlarged Corporate Executive Committee. Burkhard G. Piper was recently appointed head of the diagnostics business unit Roche Diabetes Care following the retirement of Staffan Ek.

As of 1 January, 2006, the Corporate Executive Committee (CEC) of Roche will have the following composition:

Franz B. Humer, Chairman and CEO von Roche: „For many years, Heino von Prondzynski has significantly contributed to the outstanding success of our Diagnostics division. Under his leadership the Division has substantially strengthened its global No 1 position and we express our deep gratitude to him for his distinguished service. With the appointment of Severin Schwan and Burkhard G. Piper we continue to rejuvenate our senior leadership team with highly qualified Roche managers.“

Changes on Board of Directors
At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 27 February, 2006 the regular terms of Rolf Hänggi, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, DeAnne Julius and Prof. Horst Teltschik will end. The Board of Directors proposes to the AGM the re-election of Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, DeAnne Julius and Prof. Horst Teltschik as members of the Board of Directors of Roche for another term of four years.

Rolf Hänggi who served the Board of Directors as its Vice President since 1996 has announced his intention not to stand for re-election. The Board of Directors proposes to the AGM the election of Prof. Beatrice Weder di Mauro as a new Board member.

Curricula vitae
Swiss national Beatrice Weder di Mauro was born 1965 in Basel. Since 2001 she is a professor of economics at the University of Mainz and since August 2004, she is a member of the German Council of Economic Experts. Previously she worked as an economist at the International Monetary Fund and at the World Bank, Washington. She holds a PhD from the University of Basel.

The Austrian Severin Schwan, born 1967, graduated in economics and also holds a doctorate in law. His career with Roche began in 1993 at the Corporate Finance department in Basle. After various international positions Severin Schwan became Head of Global Finance & Services for Roche Diagnostics, before he took over as Head of Region Asia Pacific for the Diagnostics division.

Burkhard G. Piper, a German by nationality, was born 1961 and has a Diploma in industrial economics. He started his business career in 1985 with Boehringer Mannheim, a healthcare company which was later acquired by Roche. After several management positions in marketing he was appointed General Manager of Roche Diagnostics Canada in 1999. In 2002 Burkhard Piper took over the position as Head Centralized Diagnostics and since 2005 he leads the Business Unit Roche Diabetes Care.

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. 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).