June 27, 2012

The planned site consolidation and the streamlining of research activities within Roche's Pharma Research and Early Development unit to support efficient allocation of resources for the Group's expanding product development pipeline.

Closure of U.S. site in Nutley, New Jersey is expected to result in a reduction of around 1,000 positions. Respective R&D activities are to be consolidated in Basel and Schlieren in Switzerland and Penzberg in Germany.

Roche Pharma will continue to have a presence on the U.S. East Coast with a Pharmaceuticals Translational Clinical Research Center of about 240 positions.

The Roche Group overall employs 20,800 people in the U.S. and continues to strongly invest in Pharma research & development in the United States through its Genentech organization, which is based in South San Francisco and not affected by this reorganization.

Reorganization will enable Roche to keep Group R&D costs stable despite a strong increase in the number of clinical development projects in the last 18 months. The financial outlook for 2012 remains unchanged.

Jean-Jacques Garaud, head of Roche Pharma Research and Early Development and member of the Enlarged Corporate Executive Committee, will leave the company on 30 June 2012. Mike Burgess will become acting head of Roche Pharma Research and Early Development.

Commenting on the consolidation, Roche CEO Severin Schwan says, "Our R&D programs were exceptionally successful over the last 18 months, with 24 out of 28 late-stage clinical trials delivering positive results. The overall number of programs in clinical development has grown substantially. The planned consolidation of our research and early development organization and the refocusing of R&D activities in Switzerland and Germany will free up resources that we can invest in these promising clinical programs while also increasing our overall efficiency." He adds, "In its 80-year old history, our Nutley site has made significant contributions to Roche's success. We will do everything we can to find socially responsible solutions for the employees affected by these changes."

Source: Roche