Roche Diagnostics and ATCC® Sign Global Agreement; Partnership to Provide Life Science Researchers with Important Information Regarding Transfection

Business Wire, August 9, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS & MANASSAS, Va. -- Roche Diagnostics and ATCC, two leaders in the life sciences research arena, are combining resources for the benefit of scientists worldwide by consolidating information on transfection and cell lines routinely used in life sciences research.

The companies will work toward two objectives. First, ATCC will supply Roche Diagnostics a selection of genuine cell lines for testing by Roche Diagnostics using Roche Applied Science's (a business area of Roche Diagnostics) transfection reagents. Both companies also will offer links on their respective websites to make it easier for researchers to determine if a cell line has been successfully transfected with the FuGENE(R) reagents. Roche Applied Science on its website (www.roche-applied-science.com), will indicate when ATCC cell lines are transfected using FuGENE(R) 6 and FuGENE(R) HD Transfection Reagents by Roche Diagnostics scientists or through peer-reviewed publications. On its website, ATCC (www.atcc.org), will provide detailed information on those cell lines and links to Roche Diagnostics transfection information and references.

Several hundred ATCC cell lines have been successfully transfected with Roche Applied Science reagents and are available through the ATCC website. The ATCC on-line search engine which utilizes both the common names and ATCC catalog numbers, makes it easy to locate the individual cell lines. The Roche Applied Science website offers a searchable database of cell lines transfected and ranked using FuGENE(R) 6 and FuGENE(R) HD Transfection Reagent along with protocols and links to associated peer reviewed publications. The Roche/ATCC agreement links these website resources to bring added convenience and enhanced productivity to research laboratories.

"Combining the strengths of our organizations through this agreement creates a powerful offering for life sciences research," said Lonnie Shoff, Senior Vice President, Roche Applied Science. "Scientists across the research spectrum - academia, biotech companies, disease research, pharmaceuticals, government, and private institutions - will have the ability to link a transfection protocol, peer-reviewed publications and results information to an ATCC cell line of interest. This partnership will provide efficiencies in experimental design and improve the rate of successful transfection for the life science research community."

"ATCC recognizes that its cell lines are standards in the research community and by combining quality transfection reagents like FuGENE(R) reagents, we have increased the chance for successful results in the lab," said Michael Gove, Vice President of Marketing and Sales at ATCC. "By offering web links to application information, such as Roche protocols and references for transfecting ATCC cells, we will help scientists reach their research goals faster."

Roche Applied Science's FuGENE(R) 6 transfection reagents and FuGENE(R) HD transfection reagents offer life science researchers transfection efficiency in cell lines not transfected well by other reagents, increase experimental throughput due to a simple, consistent protocol, and provide physiologically relevant results through minimal off target effects shown by the low cytotoxicity. In addition, these non-liposomal reagents accelerate the discovery process by producing high levels of protein expression being stable at room temperature, free of animal-derived components and active in up to 100 percent serum.

About Roche and the Roche Diagnostics Division

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 disease, 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 medicines for cancer and transplantation and a market leader in virology. In 2005 sales by the Pharmaceuticals Division totaled 27.3 billion Swiss francs, and the Diagnostics Division posted sales of 8.2 billion Swiss francs. Roche employs roughly 70,000 people in 150 countries and has R&D agreements and strategic alliances with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai. Roche's Diagnostics Division offers a uniquely broad product portfolio and supplies a wide array of innovative testing products and services to researchers, physicians, patients, hospitals and laboratories world-wide. Roche Diagnostics' North American headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Ind. (www.roche-diagnostics.us). For further information, please visit our websites www.roche.us and www.roche-diagnostics.com.

About ATCC(R)

ATCC is the largest biological resource center in the world with the most comprehensive source of reference cultures and reagents. Since 1925, the company has set the standard for authentication and distribution of biological reference materials. The ATCC Cell Biology Collection consists of over 3,600 cell lines from over 80 species and includes 700 human cancer cell lines, 1000 hybridomas for production of monoclonal antibodies and a variety of special collections. Authenticated, genuine, low-passaged cell lines from ATCC ensure that researchers use cells that are fully-tested against contamination, misidentification or genetic instability. ATCC is located in Manassas, Virginia with strategically-located distributors worldwide. For more information, visit the company's website at www.atcc.org or call 703-365-2700.