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Roche Reports 3Q10 Sales, Reiterates 2010 Guidance

[Roche reports earnings only for half-year periods, so the 3Q10 results include sales but not earnings. The long version of Roche’s PR is at http://www.roche.com/inv-update-2010-10-14-e.pdf .]

http://www.roche.com/investors/ir_update/inv-update-2010-10-14.htm

›Basel, 14 October 2010

Roche Group [i.e. the entire company] posts solid sales growth in first nine months

• Group sales increase 2% in local currencies (-1% in Swiss francs; 3% in US dollars) to 36.1 billion Swiss francs in first nine months of 2010. Excluding Tamiflu, Group sales rise 6% (3% in Swiss francs, 7% in US dollars).

• Sales of cancer medicines continue to grow strongly, rising 8%.

• Operational Excellence initiative’s Group-wide review of structures and processes well under way, with measures to be announced before year-end. Aim is to accelerate productivity improvements and strengthen innovation capacity.

• Roche confirms full-year outlook.

Pharmaceuticals Division posts mid-single-digit growth, excluding Tamiflu

• Sales up 1% (-2% in Swiss francs, 2% in US dollars). Excluding the expected significant decline in Tamiflu sales, divisional sales rise 5% (2% in Swiss francs), in line with Roche’s full-year outlook.

• Growth driven mainly by Avastin, MabThera/Rituxan, Herceptin, Lucentis, Actemra/RoActemra and Xeloda. Together, these medicines contribute over 1.2 billion Swiss francs in additional sales.

• Strong growth continues in International region (+11%), driven by E7 key emerging markets. [These seven countries are Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Turkey.]

Diagnostics Division — above-market growth and major new products

• Divisional sales grow 8% (5% in Swiss francs, 9% in US dollars), again ahead of the global market, driven mainly by Professional Diagnostics and Diabetes Care.

• Major new tests for virology and oncology launched.

• cobas 8000 modular analyser series expanded: immunoassay module launched in CE Mark countries; rollout of clinical chemistry modules in US.

• BioImagene Inc. acquired to strengthen offering in digital pathology.

Commenting on the Group’s 2010 performance to date, Roche CEO Severin Schwan said: ‘The Roche Group recorded solid nine-month sales growth in a challenging market. I am also pleased that several of our pharma development projects reported positive data in the third quarter, notably MetMAb in lung cancer and T-DM1 in HER2-positive breast cancer. Based on our performance to date, we expect to achieve our targets for 2010. Our Group-wide review of structures and processes as part of the Operational Excellence initiative is on track.’ nts.

Roche Group

Solid growth in first nine months

In the first nine months of 2010 Group sales rose 2% in local currencies (-1% in Swiss francs; 3% in US dollars) to 36.1 billion Swiss francs. Excluding Tamiflu sales, which as expected were significantly lower than in the previous year, Group sales increased 6% (3% in Swiss francs, 7% in US dollars). The Pharmaceuticals Division’s nine-month sales totalled 28.4 billion Swiss francs, an increase of 1% in local currencies (-2% in Swiss francs; 2% in US dollars). Excluding Tamiflu, pharmaceutical sales advanced 5% — in line with global market growth. The Diagnostics Division’s sales continued to grow faster than the global in vitro diagnostics market, advancing 8% in local currencies (5% in Swiss francs; 9% in US dollars) to 7.7 billion Swiss francs.

Roche again recognised as global healthcare leader in Dow Jones Sustainability Index

In September Roche was named Supersector Leader in Healthcare in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) for the second year running. This top ranking among the world’s leading sustainability-driven healthcare companies is a reflection of Roche’s commitment to its employees, communities and the environment, and positions Roche as a global leader in sustainable business practices. Roche has been included in the DJSI World and DJSI STOXX since 2004 and was first named Supersector Leader in Healthcare in 2009.

Full-year outlook confirmed

Despite lower Tamiflu sales (expected to total up to 1 billion Swiss francs in the current year, down from 3.2 billion Swiss francs in 2009) and the more challenging market environment, Roche confirms its full-year outlook for 2010 on the basis of the positive nine-month sales performance. Barring unforeseen events, Roche expects local-currency sales growth in the mid-single-digit range for the Group and the Pharmaceuticals Division in 2010 (excluding Tamiflu sales). Full-year sales by the Diagnostics Division are expected to grow significantly ahead of the market. Roche is also aiming for double-digit growth in core earnings per share at constant exchange rates.‹