Roche celebrates groundbreaking for state-of-the-art research and development building in Basel

2025-10-29

New CHF 500 million investment will accelerate drug development at Basel site
Building 12 will serve as an interface between early research and development and will be completed by 2029
Roche has invested around eight billion Swiss francs in its Swiss sites since 2015 – Building 12 is a further commitment to the Basel site

Basel, 29 October 2025 – Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) broke ground on Building 12 today, marking another milestone in the strategic development of its Basel headquarters. Roche is investing around CHF 500 million in the new, state-of-the-art facility, which is scheduled for completion in 2029. Designed for up to 450 researchers, Building 12 will be a flexible research and development facility specifically supporting the early phases of drug development. As a central interface between early research and clinical development, it will accelerate the development process for new drugs, bringing scientific breakthroughs to patients even faster.

Jürg Erismann, Site Head of Roche Basel/Kaiseraugst, emphasises the strategic importance of the project: “Building 12 is an essential part of our long-term vision for the Basel site. The investment of CHF 500 million is a clear commitment to Basel and underlines Roche's long-term commitment to this research location and to Switzerland.”

Building 12 will consolidate various research and development functions that were previously spread across the site. By bringing these teams together in a single, state-of-the-art facility, Roche will promote collaboration, foster forward-looking initiatives, and further increase research efficiency. The exterior design of the 72-meter-tall Building 12 mirrors that of Building 6, the research and development center that opened last year, ensuring it blends with the existing high-rise structure of the campus.

Since 2015, Roche has invested approximately CHF 8 billion into its Swiss sites. Furthermore, Roche has invested CHF 33 billion in research and development in Switzerland since 2015, resulting in a total investment of over CHF 40 billion over the last decade (2015 to 2024). Given that Roche generates only about 1% of its total sales in Switzerland, the Swiss location therefore benefits disproportionately from the Group's total investment.

Facts about Building 12:

Investment: approx. CHF 500 million
Building area: 32,200 m²
Building height: 72 m
Number of floors: 15
Number of workplaces: approx. 450
Project period: Q1 2023 - Q4 2029
Groundbreaking: 29 October 2025
Completion: Q4 2029
Architects: Herzog & de Meuron, Basel

For more information, please visit www.roche.ch/en/stories/groundbreaking-building12.

About Roche
Founded in 1896 in Basel, Switzerland, as one of the first industrial manufacturers of branded medicines, Roche has grown into the world’s largest biotechnology company and the global leader in in-vitro diagnostics. The company pursues scientific excellence to discover and develop medicines and diagnostics for improving and saving the lives of people around the world. We are a pioneer in personalised healthcare and want to further transform how healthcare is delivered to have an even greater impact. To provide the best care for each person we partner with many stakeholders and combine our strengths in Diagnostics and Pharma with data insights from the clinical practice.

For over 125 years, sustainability has been an integral part of Roche’s business. As a science-driven company, our greatest contribution to society is developing innovative medicines and diagnostics that help people live healthier lives. Roche is committed to the Science Based Targets initiative and the Sustainable Markets Initiative to achieve net zero by 2045.

Genentech, in the United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche is the majority shareholder in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan.

For more information, please visit www.roche.com.

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