Roche : launches imCORE, a global network of cancer immunotherapy centers of excellence

Basel, 15. November 2016

Roche launches imCORE, a global network of cancer immunotherapy centers of excellence

• Research network of 21 academic centers from around the world to access and share technology, data and expertise to advance the science of cancer immunotherapy
• Roche will invest up to 100 million Swiss Francs to support basic and clinical research collaborations within the imCORE Network

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) today launched the global cancer immunotherapy Centers of Research Excellence (imCORE™) Network. This network brings together many of the world's leading scientific and clinical experts in cancer immunotherapy to collaborate in investigating the most promising new treatment approaches. The goal is to rapidly initiate pre-clinical and clinical research based on the latest scientific discoveries and to aggregate and share data to accelerate the search for cures for people with cancer. The imCORE™ Network will focus on identifying approaches to expand the number of people who benefit from cancer immunotherapy by exploring new ways to activate a person's immune system to fight their cancer.

'We believe the fastest way to advance progress against cancer is through collaboration, and consistent with our values, the goal of imCORE is to facilitate access to new technologies and emerging data among the top researchers around the world,' said Sandra Horning, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Product Development. 'imCORE represents our most recent commitment to collaborate with the global cancer community to further understand the biology and immunology of cancer and to develop new treatments that may one day offer a cure for people with cancer.''

Roche will invest up to 100 million Swiss Francs to support basic and clinical research collaborations related to cancer immunotherapy. This investment is incremental to Roche's on-going research and development of investigational medicines and treatment approaches in the field of cancer immunotherapy.

About the imCORE Network

imCORE is a global network of basic and clinical scientists from 21 leading academic research institutions in cancer immunotherapy who will work together with scientists from Roche and Genentech, a member of the Roche group in the United States, with the goal of developing potential cures for people with cancer. Roche is working in collaboration with the network on existing and new investigational medicines, diagnostic technologies and emerging data. The network will also closely collaborate to identify and prioritise the most promising new treatment approaches and to rapidly conduct clinical trials to accelerate progress in the field.

About Roche in cancer immunotherapy

For more than 50 years, Roche has been developing medicines with the goal to redefine treatment in oncology. Today, Roche is investing more than ever in our effort to bring innovative treatment options that help a person's own immune system fight cancer.

About personalised cancer immunotherapy (PCI)

The aim of personalised cancer immunotherapy (PCI) is to provide patients and physicians with treatment options tailored to the specific immune biology associated with a person's individual tumour. The purpose is to inform treatment strategies that provide the greatest number of people with a chance for transformative benefit. PCI encompasses the search for reliable biomarkers that correlates with clinical benefit either as a monotherapy or in combination, and across a broad range of tumour types. The Roche PCI research and development programme comprises more than 20 investigational candidates, ten of which are in clinical trials.

PCI is an essential component of how Roche delivers on the broader commitment to personalised healthcare. To learn more about the Roche approach to cancer immunotherapy please follow this link:

http://www.roche.com/research_and_development/what_we_are_working_on/oncology/cancer-immunotherapy.htm

About Roche

Roche is a global pioneer in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics focused on advancing science to improve people's lives.

Roche is the world's largest biotech company, with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology and diseases of the central nervous system. Roche is also the world leader in in vitro diagnostics and tissue-based cancer diagnostics, and a frontrunner in diabetes management. The combined strengths of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics under one roof have made Roche the leader in personalised healthcare - a strategy that aims to fit the right treatment to each patient in the best way possible.

Founded in 1896, Roche continues to search for better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases and make a sustainable contribution to society. Twenty-nine medicines developed by Roche are included in the World Health Organization Model Lists of Essential Medicines, among them life-saving antibiotics, antimalarials and cancer medicines. Roche has been recognised as the Group Leader in sustainability within the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences Industry eight years in a row by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices.

The Roche Group, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, is active in over 100 countries and in 2015 employed more than 91,700 people worldwide. In 2015, Roche invested CHF 9.3 billion in R&D and posted sales of CHF 48.1 billion. 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.