Media Release

Basel, 11. November 2009

Tomorrow is “Bring your Daughters to Work Day”; Roche ready to join in

On 12 November many Roche employees will be coming to work with their sons and daughters

For tomorrow’s national “Bring Your Daughters to Work Day”, Roche will be opening its doors again to young people between the ages of 10 and 16 who want to spend a day at work with their parents. As in previous years, Roche will go beyond the original scope of the event by inviting sons as well as daughters to come and ‘look over their parents’ shoulders’ for a day.

The aim is let young people experience first hand what their parents’ work and working environment at Roche are like. At the same time, this is an opportunity for girls in particular to get an inside look at technical occupations in which women are frequently underrepresented. Significant disparities continue to exist in men’s and women’s career opportunities and choices. There are too few women managers in many companies, and too few women pursue careers in technology and engineering.

Commenting on the event, Matthias M. Baltisberger, Head Basel Site, said: ‘By participating in “Bring Your Daughters to Work Day”, we want to encourage young people to follow their own interests and talents in selecting a career. Very importantly, we want to give girls an idea of some of the career paths open to them in technical fields. The notion that girls and technology “don’t mix” is totally outdated.’

Equal opportunity Roche

The proportion of women employees at Roche has grown steadily in recent years. More women than men have been hired every year since 2000. In 2008, women accounted for 46% of the Group’s total workforce, up from 42% in 2004.

The percentage of women in managerial positions has also been growing. In 2008 37% of middle management positions were held by women. Women now head Pharmaceutical and Diagnostics subsidiaries in eleven countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Lithuania, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia. 8% of the top 120 positions in the Group are held by women.

Burgdorf, Canton of Berne

Roche’s site at Burgdorf is a centre of excellence for the development and production of infusion systems for people with diabetes, including insulin pumps, infusion sets, insertion devices, insulin cartridges and carrying cases. About 350 people work at the site, and Roche invests some 50 million Swiss francs a year there in R&D, production and infrastructure.

Rotkreuz, Canton of Zug

Rotkreuz is the location of Roche Diagnostics Ltd, which employs some 1,300 people, and Roche Diagnostics (Switzerland) Ltd., which is responsible for the distribution of all Roche Diagnostics products in Switzerland and has a workforce of 170. Besides being home to the global headquarters of Roche’s largest diagnostics business area, Roche Professional Diagnostics, to the Swiss base of Roche Molecular Diagnostics and to the Roche Diagnostics Division’s European and Latin-American distribution hub, Rotkreuz is also an important production and R & D centre for diagnostic system solutions aimed at the global diagnostics and research market. Roche’s investments here are visibly reflected in the six foundation stone-laying ceremonies that have taken place since 2006. And the brisk pace of construction activity at Rotkreuz is set to continue: on 3 November the company laid the foundation stone of the new high-rise building that will house all administrative functions at the site. This entails further investments totalling around CHF 90 million. Roche currently employs about 1,470 people at Rotkreuz.

Reinach, Canton Baselland

Roche Pharma (Switzerland) Ltd is a Roche Group company. It is domiciled in Reinach (Canton of Basel-Land) and has a headcount of some 160 employees in marketing and sales, as well as clinical research, drug registration, scientific documentation and medical information.

The stated objective of Roche Pharma (Switzerland) is to make a significant contribution to improving patients’ quality of life through the continual introduction of innovative drugs and services. Roche aims to provide medical professionals, patients and interested laypeople with top-quality drugs, services and information.

Roche in Switzerland

With R&D expenditure of almost 1.9 billion Swiss francs and investments of more than 420 illion Swiss francs (2007), Roche in Switzerland plays a key role in the Group’s global research, development and production network. At Group headquarters in Basel and at other sites in Northwestern and Central Switzerland and in the cantons of Berne and Zurich, Roche employs a total of some 9,500 people. As a leader in the pharmaceuticals and in-vitro diagnostics sectors, Roche posted sales of 509 million Swiss francs in Switzerland in 2008. More about Roche in Switzerland: www.roche.ch