PALO ALTO, CA - The California Integrated Waste Management Board presented Roche with a 2004 WRAP (Waste Reduction Awards Program) Award based on the company's recycling and waste reduction programs at its pharmaceutical research and development campus in Palo Alto. The Board is the state's leading authority on recycling and waste reduction.

Waste management efforts at Roche Palo Alto include innovative recycling programs for a wide variety of materials, such as plastic bags and pipette boxes, Styrofoam, wood pallets, landscape debris, electronic devices, fluorescent bulbs, toner cartridges, cardboard, magazines, and mixed paper. In addition, Roche has implemented a construction waste recycling program that targets a 90% recycle rate for all projects.

"In 2004, we sent the equivalent of 150 mid-sized sedans worth of waste - 145 metric tons - to recycling," said Greg Mize, site services manager for Roche Palo Alto. "That's a lot of waste that won't be sitting in our local landfill." Mize noted that due to its waste management efforts, Roche realizes a net cost savings through the use of refuse compactors rather than trash bins, a baler for compacting materials for recycling and aggressive recycling and reuse programs.

Mize said that sustainability is a strong focus for Roche in Palo Alto as well as for its operations worldwide. "We want to discover new medicines in the most environmentally responsible manner possible."

In addition to the WRAP Award, Roche has been recognized for its long-standing commitment to the environment as a recipient of a prestigious San Francisco Bay Business Network Environmental Award in the category of Pollution Prevention and Resource Conservation. Roche has also been a recipient of the Community Star Award from the Community Services Department of the City of Palo Alto, being cited as "the pacesetter for volunteerism and environmental awareness in the local business community."

About Roche (www.roche.com)
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's leading research-intensive healthcare groups. Its core businesses are pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As a supplier of innovative products and services for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people's health and quality of life. Roche is number one in the global diagnostics market, the leading supplier of medicines for cancer and transplantation and a market leader in virology. In 2003, the Pharmaceuticals Division generated 19.8 billion Swiss francs in prescription drug sales, while the Diagnostics Division posted sales of 7.4 billion Swiss francs. Roche employs roughly 65,000 people in 150 countries and has R&D agreements and strategic alliances with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai.

About Roche Palo Alto (http://paloalto.roche.com)
Roche has 1,000 people on its Palo Alto campus, which is located adjacent to Stanford University in California's Silicon Valley. It is one of five global Roche research centers. Scientists at Roche Palo Alto are focused on the discovery of new medicines to treat central nervous system, genitourinary, viral, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and to support organ transplantation. Medicines discovered on the Roche Palo Alto campus include CellCept® (mycophenolate mofetil) for the prevention of renal, cardiac and hepatic organ transplant rejection, Valcyte® (valganciclovir) for the treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) in patients with AIDS and prevention of CMV disease in kidney, heart and kidney-pancreas transplant in high risk patients and Aleve®, a naproxen-sodium based over-the-counter pain reliever.

Roche

Roche

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As a supplier of innovative 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's health and quality of life. Roche is a world leader in diagnostics, the leading supplier of drugs for cancer and transplantation and a market leader in virology. Roche employs roughly 65,000 people in 150 countries and has R&D agreements and strategic alliances with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai.

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