Roche Pharmaceuticals

This month, Med Ad News, one of the pharmaceutical industry’s leading business and marketing publications, selected Roche out of 50 companies as the “2007 Pharmaceutical Company of the Year.” This marks the first time Roche has received this distinction.

Roche’s selection results from the company’s focus on innovation-driven healthcare as demonstrated by its top seven products that have helped patients worldwide and are categorized as blockbusters, individually earning over a billion dollars; seven major marketing approvals in the first half of 2007; and a number of new innovative medicines to be launched in the future.

“Roche is thrilled to be recognized as ‘Company of the Year’ by Med Ad News,” said Franz B. Humer, Roche Chairman and CEO. “Roche will continue efforts to be an industry leader by remaining focused on unmet medical needs and developing innovative products and services that address prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, thus enhancing people’s health and quality of life.”

According to Med Ad News, Roche was selected as Company of the Year, based on a number of key factors, including record gains in 2006 and 2007, through organic growth and the company’s earnings performance, strength in the pharmaceuticals division, solid growth in its product line, including several billion dollar products.

Med Ad News also highlighted the company’s new R&D model, which was implemented earlier this year, and potential promising pipeline candidates, key acquisitions and alliances, and recognition as an employer of choice by numerous organizations and publications. While the distinction is for pharmaceutical company of the year, Med Ad News also cited the company’s leadership in in vitro diagnostics, key diagnostic products and alliances, as well as the pending transition in management following the announcement that Severin Schwan will assume the position of CEO in March 2008.

Each year, Med Ad News releases its ranking of the world’s Top 50 Pharmaceutical Companies (www.pharmalive.com). In addition to providing in-depth information on the how the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies have fared during the past year, their September issue includes an extensive profile on Roche and their website features an in-depth interview with Roche CEO Franz Humer (http://www.pharmalive.com/extra/2007/090407.cfm).

Selection Criteria
The criteria used to select the pharmaceutical company of the year are based on a model developed by the editors of Med Ad News. Each one of the top 50 companies is evaluated on a number of categories, including: recent and projected future financial strength, number of billion-plus drugs on the market, number of potential billion-plus drugs in the pipeline, recent number of new drug introductions, number of new drugs to be launched in the near future, quality of new products, quality of management and vision, marketing ability and activity, strength of the product pipeline, first-half current-year performance, formative events and actions, business strategy, corporate governance and ethics, Wall Street standing, responsiveness to market forces, shareholder value, and future direction and future potential.

Recent Awards
This selection follows the first Financial Times / Citi Private Bank Environmental Award where Roche was awarded “The Greatest Improvement in Carbon Efficiency Achieved by a Large Enterprise both on a European and a Global level" These Awards underline the company’s leadership in environmental protection and its commitment to meet the climate change challenge by concrete and measurable steps. Since 1996, Roche has reduced its CO2 emissions, the main factor of the climate change, by more than 70% relative to its total turnover.