Roche's Half Year Results and Report 2004


BASEL, Switzerland, July 1, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- 21st July am -- Conference call 21st July pm -- Presentation in Zurich 22nd July pm -- Presentation in New York

Conference call, 21st July 2004

Roche will publish its Half Year Results for 2004 prior to the opening of the Swiss Stock Exchange on Wednesday, 21st July 2004. The Half Year Report 2004 will also be available on Roche's website at http://ir.roche.com. Please find following the full schedule of events:

07.00 CET (Central European time) Release will be e-mailed and posted on the Roche IR website. Presentation slides and the Half Year Report 2004 will be posted on the Roche IR website http://ir.roche.com.

08.00 CET Conference call will commence with presentations by senior management followed by a 45-minutes Q&A session (live access to the speakers). Participants will be:


            Dr. Erich Hunziker, Chief Financial Officer
            William M. Burns, Head of the Pharmaceuticals Division
            Heino von Prondzynski, Head of the Diagnostics Division
            Dr. Karl Mahler, Head of Investor Relations

Analysts are invited to dial in to the conference using the following dial-in numbers:



            +41 (0) 91 610 5600 (Europe and ROW) or
            +44 (0) 207 107 0611 (UK) or
            +1 (1) 866 291 4166 (USA Toll Free).

Please dial into the conference call 10-15 minutes before the call is scheduled to start. Alternatively, you can follow the conference call as a live audio webcast through the Internet site http://ir.roche.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on demand at http://ir.roche.com.

A replay of the conference call will be available one hour after the conference call, for 48 hours. Access is by dialing: +41 91 612 4330 (in Europe) or +44 207 866 4300 (UK) and +1 412 317 0088 (in USA) and enter the conference ID 225 followed by the # sign. Presentation in Zurich, 21st July 2004

For our European clients, Roche will be hosting a group presentation at the Renaissance Zurich Hotel, Zurich-Glattbrugg. A detailed invitation will follow.

14.15 CET

General Presentation and Q & A session will be held by:


             Dr. Franz B. Humer, Chief Executive Officer
             William M. Burns, Head of the Pharmaceuticals 
             Division
           and
             Heino von Prondzynski, Head of the Diagnostics Division
             Dr. Erich Hunziker, Chief Financial Officer

Following the general presentation will be four break-out sessions, held simultaneously, covering the topics Strategy & Finance, Diagnostics, Pharmaceuticals and Accounting.

For those who cannot attend in person, the presentation and Q&A session can be listened to via telephone (listen only mode, no live access to speakers). Please dial into the call 10-15 minutes before is scheduled to start. The dial-in numbers are:


            +41 (0) 91 610 5600 (Europe and ROW) or
            +44 (0) 207 107 0611 (UK) or
            +1 (1) 866 291 4166 (USA Toll Free).

A replay of the conference call will be available one hour after the conference call, for 48 hours. Access is by dialing: +41 91 612 4330 (in Europe) or +44 207 866 4300 (UK) and +1 412 317 0088 (in USA) and enter the conference ID 018 followed by the # sign.

You are also invited to follow the presentation via a live audio webcast with synchronized presentation slides, to be accessed through the Internet site http://ir.roche.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on demand at http://ir.roche.com.

The break-out sessions will be recorded and placed on the Internet site within 48 hours.

Presentation in New York, 22nd July 2004

For our US clients, Roche will be hosting a group presentation at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York. A detailed invitation will follow.

12.30 New York EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) / 18.30 CET General Presentation and Q & A will be held by:


             Dr. Franz B. Humer, Chief Executive Officer
             William M. Burns, Head of the Pharmaceuticals Division
            and
             Heino von Prondzynski, Head of the Diagnostics Division
             Dr. Erich Hunziker, Chief Financial Officer

Following the general presentation will be four break-out sessions, held simultaneously, covering the topics Strategy & Finance, Diagnostics, Pharmaceuticals and Accounting.

For those who cannot attend in person, the presentation and Q&A session can be listened to via telephone (listen only mode, no live access to speakers). Please dial into the call 10-15 minutes before is scheduled to start. The dial-in numbers are:


            +41 (0) 91 610 5600 (Europe and ROW) or
            +44 (0) 207 107 0611 (UK) or
            +1 (1) 866 291 4166 (USA Toll Free).

A replay of the conference call will be available one hour after the conference call, for 48 hours. Access is by dialing: +41 91 612 4330 (in Europe) or +44 207 866 4300 (UK) and +1 412 317 0088 (in USA) and enter the conference ID 057 followed by the # sign.

In addition, you can follow the conference call as a live audio webcast through the Internet site http://ir.roche.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on demand at http://ir.roche.com.

The break-out sessions will be recorded and placed on the Internet site in due time.


 Roche IR Contacts:

 Dr. Karl Mahler                  Eva-Maria Schafer
 Phone: +41 (0)61 687 85 03       Phone: +41 (0)61 688 66 36
 e-mail: karl.mahler@roche.com    e-mail: eva-maria.schaefer@roche.com

 Dianne Young                     Dr. Zuzana Dobbie
 Phone: +41 (0)61 688 93 56       Phone: +41 (0)61 688 80 27
 e-mail: dianne.young@roche.com   e-mail: zuzana.dobbie@roche.com

 North American investors please contact: 
 Richard Simpson 
 Phone: +1 973 235 3655 
 e-mail: richard.simpson@roche.com

The invitation can also be downloaded from the enclosed link: http://hugin.info/100334/R/951456/135002.pdf