{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\cocoartf949\cocoasubrtf430
{\fonttbl\f0\froman\fcharset0 TimesNewRomanPSMT;\f1\fswiss\fcharset0 ArialMT;}
{\margl1800\margr1600\margt500\margbl1440}
{\pard\sa900\fs50\f0\i Media Release\par}

{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 Basel, 8. September 2008\par}
{\pard\f0\sl360\fs22\b Changes in Corporate Communications\par}
{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 After more than 11 years with Roche, Rolf Schl\u228?pfer, Head of Corporate Communications, has decided to resign from his position by the end of the year and to pursue his career outside the company. His successor will be announced in due course. Rolf Schl\u228?pfer has agreed to oversee important projects ad interim beyond the date of his resignation.\par}
{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 After graduating in business administration from the University of Z\u252?rich, Rolf Schl\u228?pfer, aged 52, held various positions in banking, marketing and communications. In his role as CEO of a consulting firm, he worked with Roche for several years before joining the company in 1997 as Head of Corporate Communications. At the beginning of 2006, he was appointed member of the Enlarged Executive Committee of Roche.\par}
{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 Rolf Schl\u228?pfer has been responsible for building up a professional and truly global communication organization, paving the way for an open and active internal and external communications policy.\par}
{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 The company would like to thank Rolf Schl\u228?pfer for his long standing contributions to the company's success and wishes him all the best for the future. \par}
{\pard\f0\sl360\fs22\b About Roche\par}
{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs22 Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world\u8217?s leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As the world\u8217?s biggest biotech company and an innovator of products and services for the early detection, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people\u8217?s health and quality of life. Roche is the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics and drugs for cancer and transplantation, and is a market leader in virology. It is also active in other major therapeutic areas such as autoimmune diseases, inflammatory and metabolic disorders and diseases of the central nervous system. In 2007 sales by the Pharmaceuticals Division totalled 36.8 billion Swiss francs, and the Diagnostics Division posted sales of 9.3 billion francs. Roche has R&D agreements and strategic alliances with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai, and invested over 8 billion Swiss francs in R&D in 2007. Worldwide, the Group employs about 80,000 people. Additional information is available on the Internet at www.roche.com (http://www.roche.com).\par}
{\pard\f0\li0\ri0\sa360\sl360\fs18 All trademarks used or mentioned in this release are legally protected.\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}
}