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F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche (), is a
Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...
multinational holding healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
, Roche Holding AG, has
shares In financial markets, a share (sometimes referred to as stock or equity) is a unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation. It can refer to units of mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. Sha ...
listed on the
SIX Swiss Exchange SIX Swiss Exchange (formerly SWX Swiss Exchange), based in Zürich, is Switzerland's principal stock exchange (the other being BX Swiss). SIX Swiss Exchange also trades other security (finance), securities such as Swiss government bonds and deriv ...
. The company headquarters are located in
Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
. Roche is the fifth-largest pharmaceutical company in the world by revenue and the leading provider of
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
treatments globally. In 2023, the company’s seat in
Forbes Global 2000 The ''Forbes'' Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world, published by: sales, profit, assets and market value. The list has been published annually since 2003. By country Forbes Global 2000 as of 2023: ...
was 76. The company owns the American
biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...
company
Genentech Genentech, Inc. is an American biotechnology corporation headquartered in South San Francisco, California. It operates as an independent subsidiary of holding company Roche. Genentech Research and Early Development operates as an independent cent ...
, which is a wholly owned independent subsidiary, and the Japanese biotechnology company Chugai Pharmaceuticals, as well as the United States–based companies Ventana and Foundation Medicine. Roche's revenues during fiscal year 2020, were 58.32 billion
Swiss franc The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) iss ...
s. Descendants of the founding Hoffmann and Oeri families own slightly over half of the bearer shares with voting rights (a pool of family shareholders 45%, and Maja Oeri a further 5% apart), with Swiss pharma firm
Novartis Novartis AG is a Swiss multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical company, pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was the eighth largest by re ...
owning a further third of its shares until 2021. Roche is one of the few companies increasing their dividend every year, for 2020 as the 34th consecutive year. F. Hoffmann-La Roche is a full member of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).


History

Founded in 1896 by Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche, the company was known early on for producing various vitamin preparations and derivatives. In 1934, it became the first company to mass-produce synthetic
vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...
, under the brand name Redoxon. During the Second World War, Roche collaborated with the Nazi regime in Germany and used forced labour in its German and Polish-based factories. They also moved all their Jewish employees to the United States to save them from Nazi attention. In 1957, Hoffmann-La Roche introduced the class of tranquilizers known as
benzodiazepine Benzodiazepines (BZD, BDZ, BZs), colloquially known as "benzos", are a class of central nervous system (CNS) depressant, depressant drugs whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring. They are prescribed t ...
s (with Valium and
Rohypnol Flunitrazepam, sold under the brand name Rohypnol among others, is a benzodiazepine used to treat severe insomnia and assist with anesthesia. As with other hypnotics, flunitrazepam has been advised to be prescribed only for short-term use or by ...
being the best known members). It manufactures and sells several cancer drugs and is a leader in this field. In 1956, the first antidepressant, iproniazid, was accidentally created during an experiment while synthesizing isoniazid. Originally, it had been intended to create a more efficient drug at combatting
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
. Iproniazid, however, was revealed to have its own benefits; some people felt it made them feel happier. It was withdrawn from the market in the early 1960s due to toxic side-effects. In 1976, an accident at a chemical factory in Seveso, Italy, owned by a subsidiary of Roche, caused a large dioxin contamination. In 1982, the United States arm of the company acquired Biomedical Reference Laboratories for US$163.5 million. That company dated from the late 1960s, and was located in Burlington, North Carolina. That year Hoffmann-La Roche then merged it with all of its laboratories, and incorporated the merged company as Roche Biomedical Laboratories, Inc. in Burlington. By the early 1990s, Roche Biomedical became one of the largest clinical laboratory networks in the United States, with 20 major laboratories and US$600 million in sales. Roche has also produced various HIV tests and
antiretroviral drug The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple Antiviral drug, antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV/AIDS, HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV li ...
s. It bought the patents for the
polymerase chain reaction The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to make millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample rapidly, allowing scientists to amplify a very small sample of DNA (or a part of it) sufficiently to enable detailed st ...
(PCR) technique in 1992. In 1995, the era of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) was initiated by the United States FDA's approval of Hoffman LaRoche's HIV protease inhibitor, saquinavir. Within 2 years of its approval (and that of ritonavir 4 months later) annual deaths from AIDS in the United States fell from over 50,000 to approximately 18,000. On 28 April 1995, Hoffmann-La Roche sold Roche Biomedical Laboratories, Inc. to National Health Laboratories Holdings Inc. (which then changed its name to Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings).Laboratory Corp of America Holdings · 10-Q · For 3/31/95
, SECInfo.com, Filed On 5/15/95, SEC File 1-11353, Accession Number 920148-95-11
Roche acquired Syntex in 1994, and Chugai Pharmaceuticals in 2002. Oseltamivir an antiviral drug used to combat influenza. Roche is the only drug company authorized to manufacture the drug, which was discovered by Gilead Sciences. Roche purchased the rights to the drug in 1996, and in 2005, settled a royalty dispute, agreeing to pay Gilead tiered royalties of 14–22% of annual net sales without adjusting the payments for manufacturing costs, as had been allowed in the original licensing agreement. On 20 October 2005, Hoffmann-La Roche decided to license other companies to manufacture Oseltamivir. Also in 2005, Roche acquired the Swiss company GlycArt Biotechnology in order to acquire technology to afucosylate antibodies; one of its products in development was obinutuzumab, which gained FDA approval in November 2013 for the treatment of
chronic lymphocytic leukemia Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. In CLL, the bone marrow makes too many lymphocytes, which are a type of white blood cell. In patients with CLL, B cell lymphocytes can begin to colle ...
. On 22 January 2008, Roche acquired Ventana Medical Systems for $3.4 billion. On 2 January 2009, Roche acquired Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp. On 26 March 2009, Roche acquired
Genentech Genentech, Inc. is an American biotechnology corporation headquartered in South San Francisco, California. It operates as an independent subsidiary of holding company Roche. Genentech Research and Early Development operates as an independent cent ...
for $46.8 billion. On 12 March 2009, Roche agreed to fully acquire Genentech, in which it had held a majority stake since 1990, after eight months of negotiations. As a result of the Genentech acquisition, Roche moved its
Palo Alto Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...
–based research facilities to their campus that straddles the border between Clifton, New Jersey and Nutley, New Jersey while Roche's United States headquarters, located on the New Jersey site since 1929, was moved to Genentech's facility in South San Francisco. Genentech became a wholly owned
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...
group of Roche on 25 March 2009. Roche began vacating the NJ site in 2012, and sold it off in 2016. Roche acquired Medingo Ltd. in April 2010, for $160 million and BioImagene, Inc. in August for $100 million. In 2011, the company received the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering Facility of the Year Award for Process Innovation for Roche's "MyDose" Clinical Supply project. In March 2011, Roche acquired PVT Probenverteiltechnik GmbH for up to €85 million. In July 2010, Roche acquired mtm laboratories AG for up to 190 million EUR. In October, Roche acquired Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for $230 million. In December, Roche announced it would acquire Munich-based Verum Diagnostica GmbH, gaining entry to the fastest-growing field in the coagulation diagnostics market. On 26 June 2012, Roche announced the closure of the Nutley/Clifton campus, which was completed in 2013. The property is in the process of remediation. In July 2013, Roche Diagnostics acquired blood diagnostics company Constitution Medical Inc. for $220 million. Later, in September, Genentech announced it would acquire Arrayit Corporation. On 7 April 2014, Roche announced its intention to acquire IQuum for up to $450 million, as well as the rights to an experimental drug (ORY-1001) from Spanish company Oryzon Genomics for $21 million and up to $500 million in milestone payments. On 2 June, Roche announced its intention to acquire Genia Technologies Inc. for up to $350 million. In August 2014, the company agreed to purchase Californian-based pharmaceutical firm InterMune for $8.3 billion, at $74 a share this represents a 38% premium over the final share closing price, as well as Santaris Pharma A/S for $450 million. In December 2014, the company acquired next-generation sequencing processing company Bina Technologies for an undisclosed sum and Dutalys GmbH a developer of next-generation anti-bodies. On 16 January 2015, the company announced that they would acquire Trophos for €470 million ($543 million) in order to increase the company's neuromuscular disease presence. The deal will centre on the Phase II and III spinal muscular atrophy drug olesoxime (TRO19622). In April 2015, Roche acquired CAPP Medical, and its chief development of technology for cancer screening and monitoring via the detection of circulating tumour DNA. In August, the company announced its intention to acquire GeneWEAVE, Inc. for up to $425 million in order to strengthen its microbial diagnostics business. Days later the company acquired Kapa Biosystems, Inc. for $445M, focussing on next generation sequencing and polymerase chain reaction applications. In October 2015, the company acquired Adheron Therapeutics for $105 million (plus up to $475 million in milestone payments). In January 2016, the company announced it would acquire Tensha Therapeutics for $115 million upfront, with $420 million in contingent payments. In January 2017, the company acquired ForSight VISION4. In June, the company acquired the diabetes management platform, mySugr GmbH for an undisclosed price. In November Roche acquired Viewics, Inc. In late December the company announced it would acquire Ignyta Inc, expanding its global oncology business. In February 2018, Roche announced it would acquire Flatiron Health, a business specialising in US cancer data analytics, for $1.9 billion. In June of the same year the company announced it would acquire the outstanding shares of Foundation Medicine for $2.4 billion ($137 per share). Later in September Roche announced its intention to acquire Tusk Therapeutics for up to €655 million ($759 million) expanding Roche's oncology pipeline. Tusk announced that the anti-CD38 antibody it is developing will be spun off to form a new company, Black Belt Therapeutics. In late November, the company announced that Genentech would acquire Jecure Therapeutics, gaining access to Jecure's portfolio of NLRP3 inhibitors developed to fight inflammatory diseases like non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and liver fibrosis. In February 2019, the business announced it would acquire
gene therapy Gene therapy is Health technology, medical technology that aims to produce a therapeutic effect through the manipulation of gene expression or through altering the biological properties of living cells. The first attempt at modifying human DNA ...
company, Spark Therapeutics, for ($114.50 per share) adding Spark's gene therapy portfolio to its previous acquired assets. Spark has an already approved treatment for Leber's congenital amaurosis, Luxturna – priced at per patient. The offer to acquire Spark Therapeutics was extended to May 2019 after Roche was unable to garner majority support from Spark shareholders. A second gene therapy-related action came in December with the acquisition of non-United States rights to an investigational duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy developed by Sarepta Therapeutics. In November, Roche acquired Promedior and its lead treatment – PRM-151 – for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, for $390 million upfront and another $1 billion in milestone payments. In March 2020, the Roche Diagnostics division reached a significant milestone with the FDA-approval of its high-volume Sars-CoV-2 diagnostic test, capable of analysing 1,400-8,800 samples within 24h on the proprietary Cobas 6800/8800 molecular testing system. In September, the business acquired Ireland-based Inflazome, for €380 million, gaining control of its NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors. In March 2021, Roche announced it would acquire GenMark Diagnostics for $1.8 billion. Under the terms of agreement, Genmark diagnostics will become a subsidiary and the principal operations will continue to remain in Carlsbad, California. In September, the company announced it would acquire German biotech group, TIB Molbiol, enhancing its molecular diagnostics operations. In September 2022, Roche acquired Good Therapeutics at a cost of $250M for its PD1-regulated IL-2 receptor agonist program. In July 2023, Roche partnered with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in a deal worth $2.8 billion for the development of a hypertension drug. In December 2023, Roche acquired Carmot Therapeutics, an anti-obesity drug developer, for $2.7 billion. In October 2023, Monte Rosa Therapeutics and Roche signed a strategic cooperation and licensing agreement for the discovery and development of molecular adhesive degradators (MGD) to combat
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
and neurological diseases. The partnership includes Monte Rosa’s QuEENT discovery engine and Roche Holding expertise. Also Monte Rosa will receive $50m as an upfront payment and additional payments that will depend on the pre-clinical, clinical, commercial stages and sales, as well as multi-level royalty system and may exceed $2 billion. In March 2024, it was announced Roche had sold Genentech's site in
Vacaville, California Vacaville is a city located in Solano County, California, United States. It is located from Sacramento, California, Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is on the edge of the Sacramento Valley in Northern California. The city was founded in ...
to the
Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...
pharmaceutical company, Lonza for $1.2 billion. In November 2024, Roche acquired Poseida Therapeutics for US $1.0 billion. In April 2025, Roche announced it would invest $50 billion in the United States over the next five years, creating more than 12,000 new jobs.


Family

The Hoffmann-La Roche family is Switzerland's richest and one of the most secretive families. Many members of the family don't carry the last name Hoffmann anymore. Some are known as Oeri, Michalski, Faber-Castell, Fabre, Schmid or Duschmalé.


Acquisition history

*Hoffmann-La Roche **Biomedical Reference Laboratories ** Syntex ** Chugai Pharmaceuticals ** 454 Life Sciences ** Roche Diagnostics ***Spring BioScience Corp *** Ventana Medical Systems ***mySugr GmbH ***Viewics, Inc ***Flatiron Health ***Stratos Genomics **Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp **
Genentech Genentech, Inc. is an American biotechnology corporation headquartered in South San Francisco, California. It operates as an independent subsidiary of holding company Roche. Genentech Research and Early Development operates as an independent cent ...
***Tanox, Inc ***Arrayit Corporation ***Seragon ***Jecure Therapeutics **Medingo Ltd **BioImagene, Inc. **PVT Probenverteiltechnik GmbH **MTM laboratories AG **Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. **Verum Diagnostica GmbH **Constitution Medical Inc. **IQuum **Genia Technologies Inc. **InterMune **Santaris Pharma A/S **Bina Technologies, Inc. **Dutalys GmbH **Ariosa Diagnostics ** Trophos **CAPP Medical **GeneWEAVE BioSciences, Inc. **Kapa Biosystems, Inc. **Adheron Therapeutics **Tensha Therapeutics **ForSight VISION4 **Ignyta Inc ** Foundation Medicine, Inc. **Tusk Therapeutics ** Spark Therapeutics **Promedior **Stratos Genomics **Inflazome **GenMark Diagnostics **TIB Molbiol **Good Therapeutics **Telavant **Carmot Therapeutics


Financial data


Divisions

Roche has two major divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Roche Diagnostics manufactures
diagnostic Diagnosis (: diagnoses) is the identification of the nature and cause of a certain phenomenon. Diagnosis is used in a lot of different academic discipline, disciplines, with variations in the use of logic, analytics, and experience, to determine " ...
equipment and reagents for research and medical diagnostic applications. Internally, it is organised into five major business areas: Roche Applied Science, Roche Professional Diagnostics, Roche Diabetes Care, Roche Molecular Diagnostics and Roche Tissue Diagnostics ( Ventana). The main location for Roche Professional Diagnostics is in Rotkreuz, Switzerland. All business areas except
Roche Applied Science Roche Applied Science was a global business entity in the biotechnology sector that produces reagents and systems for life sciences research, with an emphasis on molecular genetics and cell biology research needs. Scope of business Roche Applied ...
focus on health care applications, targeting either physicians, hospitals and clinics, or consumers. Applied Science targets research settings in academia and pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.


Products

Hoffmann-La Roche develops drugs used for cancer treatment, against virus diseases and for treatment of metabolic diseases. The company is the world's largest spender in pharmaceutical R&D. Drugs produced by Roche include: * Accutane/RoAccutane (
isotretinoin Isotretinoin, also known as 13-''cis''-retinoic acid and sold under the brand name Accutane among others, is a medication used to treat skin diseases like harlequin-type ichthyosis, and lamellar ichthyosis, and severe cystic acne or moderat ...
), for severe (nodular) acne vulgaris - no longer sold under Accutane brand name but is still available as RoAccutane, other brand names and Isotretinoin generics. * Actemra/RoActemra ( tocilizumab), for rheumatoid arthritis. * Actimmune ( interferon gamma), for chronic granulomatous disease, later sold to Connetics Corporation, then InterMune, after that Vidara Therapeutics and finally Horizon Pharma as of 2019. * Activase ( alteplase), for heart attacks. * Akynzeo ( netupitant/palonosetron), for nausea and vomiting, licensed by Eisai Co. and Helsinn Therapeutics. * Alecensa ( alectinib), for ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer. * Aloxi ( palonosetron), for nausea and vomiting, licensed by Eisai Co. and Helsinn Therapeutics. * Anexate ( flumazenil), for the reversal of acute benzodiazepine effects. * Aurorix (
moclobemide Moclobemide, sold under the brand names Amira, Aurorix, Clobemix, Depnil and Manerix among others, is a reversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase A (RIMA) drug primarily used to treat Clinical depression, depression and social anxiety. It is not ...
), for depression. * Avastin ( bevacizumab), for certain malignant tumours. * Bactrim ( trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole), a sulphonamide antibacterial. * Boniva Bonviva ( ibandronic acid), for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal females. *Camleed ( enprostil), for gastric ulcer prevention. * Cardene ( nicardipine), for treatment of stable angina pectoris. * Cathflo Activase ( alteplase), for heart attacks. * Cellcept ( mycophenolate mofetil), for transplant rejection. * Cotellic ( cobimetinib), for melanoma. * Cymevene ( ganciclovir), for cytomegalovirus infection. * Dalmane Dalmadorm ( flurazepam), for insomnia. *Dilatrend ( carvedilol), for hypertension and congestive heart failure. * Dormicum (
midazolam Midazolam, sold under the brand name Versed among others, is a benzodiazepine medication used for anesthesia, premedication before surgical anesthesia, and procedural sedation, and to treat psychomotor agitation, severe agitation. It induces ...
), for insomnia and procedural sedation and analgesia. * Erivedge ( vismodegib), for basal-cell carcinoma. * Esbriet ( pirfenidone), for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. * Fansidar ( sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine), for malaria and toxoplasmosis. * Fuzeon (
enfuvirtide Enfuvirtide (International Nonproprietary Name, INN), sold under the brand name Fuzeon, is an HIV fusion inhibitor, the first of a class of antiretroviral drugs used in combination therapy for the treatment of AIDS/HIV. Medical uses Enfuvirti ...
), for salvage therapy of HIV-1 infection. * Gazyva ( obinutuzumab), for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. * Hemlibra ( emicizumab), for haemophilia A. * Herceptin (
trastuzumab Trastuzumab, sold under the brand name Herceptin among others, is a monoclonal antibody used to treat breast cancer and stomach cancer. It is specifically used for cancer that is HER2 receptor positive. It may be used by itself or together ...
), for HER-2 positive breast cancer. * Hivid ( zalcitabine), for HIV-1 infection, later discontinued in 2006. * Inhibace ( cilazapril), for hypertension and
congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...
. * Invirase ( saquinavir), for HIV-1 infection. * Kadcyla ( trastuzumab emtansine), for HER-2 positive breast cancer. * Klonopin Rivotril ( clonazepam), for epilepsy and anxiety disorders. * Kytril ( granisetron), for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, licensed by
GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a Mergers an ...
. * Lariam ( mefloquine), for malaria (both prevention and treatment). * Lexotanil ( bromazepam), for anxiety disorders. * Librax ( Chlordiazepoxide/clidinium bromide), treating stomach ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, or symptoms related to intestinal infection. * Librium ( chlordiazepoxide), for anxiety disorders. * Lucentis ( ranibizumab), for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). * Luxturna ( voretigene neparvovec), for Leber's congenital amaurosis. * MabThera (
rituximab Rituximab, sold under the brand name Rituxan among others, is a monoclonal antibody medication used to treat certain autoimmune diseases and types of cancer. It is used for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (in children and ad ...
), for B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (and other haematological malignancies), non-Hodgkin lymphomas and rheumatoid arthritis. * Madopar/Prolopa ( levodopa benserazide), for Parkinson's disease. * Mircera (methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta">benserazide.html" ;"title="levodopa benserazide">levodopa benserazide), for Parkinson's disease. * Mircera (methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta), for anaemia associated with chronic kidney disease. * Naprosyn (naproxen), a NSAID used for pain relief and arthritis treatment. *Neulastim (pegfilgrastim), for neutropaenia. * Neupogen (filgrastim), for neutropaenia. * Nutropin ( somatropin), for growth hormone deficiency. * Nutropin AQ ( somatropin), for growth hormone deficiency. *Nutropin Depot ( somatropin), for growth hormone deficiency, later discontinued in 2004 and replaced by Nutropin AQ. * Ocrevus ( ocrelizumab), for MS. * Peginterferon/alfa-2a, Pegasys, ( peginterferon alfa-2a) for hepatitis B and C. * Perjeta ( pertuzumab), for HER-2 positive breast cancer. * Polatuzumab vedotin, Polivy ( polatuzumab vedotin), for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. * Protropin ( somatrem), for growth hormone deficiency, later discontinued in 2004 in favor of its successor, Nutropin. * Pulmozyme (
dornase alfa Dornase alfa, sold under the brand name Pulmozyme, is used for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. It is a recombinant human deoxyribonuclease I (rhDNase), an enzyme which selectively cleaves DNA. Dornase alfa hydrolyzes the DNA present in sputum/ ...
), for the improvement of pulmonary function in cystic fibrosis. * Raptiva ( efalizumab), for psoriasis, later withdrawn in 2009 due to the risk of PML. * Recormon NeoRecormon ( epoetin beta), for anaemia. * Rituxan (
rituximab Rituximab, sold under the brand name Rituxan among others, is a monoclonal antibody medication used to treat certain autoimmune diseases and types of cancer. It is used for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (in children and ad ...
), for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. * Rocaltrol (
calcitriol Calcitriol is a hormone and the active form of vitamin D, normally made in the kidney. It is also known as 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol. It binds to and activates the vitamin D receptor in the nucleus of the cell, which then increases the exp ...
), for osteoporosis and hypocalcaemia. * Rocephin ( ceftriaxone), a broad-spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic. * Roferon A ( peginterferon alfa-2a), for some haematological malignancies (hairy cell leukaemia, chronic myelogenous leukaemia), certain solid tumours (including Kaposi's sarcoma), genital warts and chronic hepatitis C. * Rohypnol ( flunitrazepam), for severe insomnia. * Rozlytrek ( entrectinib), for ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer and NTRK fusion-positive solid tumours. * Soriatane/Neotigason ( acitretin), for psoriasis. * Tamiflu ( oseltamivir), for influenza A and B (both treatment and prevention). * Tarceva ( erlotinib), for various cancers. * Tasmar ( tolcapone), for parkinson's disease, licensed by Mylan and Bausch Health. * Tecentriq ( atezolizumab), for non-small cell lung cancer. * TNKase ( tenecteplase), for heart attacks. * Toradol ( ketorolac), for pain management. * Valcyte ( valganciclovir), for cytomegalovirus infection. * Valium (
diazepam Diazepam, sold under the brand name Valium among others, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. It is used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety disorder, anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndr ...
), for anxiety disorders, alcohol withdrawal, status epilepticus and other conditions. * midazolam, Versed (
midazolam Midazolam, sold under the brand name Versed among others, is a benzodiazepine medication used for anesthesia, premedication before surgical anesthesia, and procedural sedation, and to treat psychomotor agitation, severe agitation. It induces ...
), for insomnia and procedural sedation and analgesia. * Vesanoid (
tretinoin Tretinoin, also known as all-''trans'' retinoic acid (ATRA), is a medication used for the treatment of acne and acute promyelocytic leukemia. For acne, it is applied to the skin as a cream, gel or ointment. For acute promyelocytic leukemia, ...
), for acute promyelocytic leukaemia. * Viracept (
nelfinavir Nelfinavir, sold under the brand name Viracept, is an antiretroviral medication used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. Nelfinavir belongs to the class of drugs known as protease inhibitor (pharmacology), protease inhibitors (PIs) and like other PIs ...
), for HIV-1 infection, licensed by
Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...
and
ViiV Healthcare ViiV Healthcare ( ) is a British multinational pharmaceutical company specializing in the research and development of medicines to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS. Its global headquarters is located in London. The company was created as a joint ...
. * Xeloda (
capecitabine Capecitabine, sold under the brand name Xeloda among others, is a anticancer medication used to treat breast cancer, gastric cancer and colorectal cancer. For breast cancer it is often used together with docetaxel. It is taken by mouth. ...
), for breast and colorectal cancer. * Xenical ( orlistat), for obesity. * Xofluza ( baloxavir marboxil), for influenza A and B (both treatment and prevention). * Xolair ( omalizumab), for asthma, chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU), and nasal polyps. * Zelboraf (
vemurafenib Vemurafenib ( INN), sold under the brand name Zelboraf, is a medication used for the treatment of late-stage melanoma.; It is an inhibitor of the B-Raf enzyme and was developed by Plexxikon. Mechanism of action Vemurafenib causes programm ...
), for late-stage V600E BRAF mutation-positive melanoma. * Zenapax ( daclizumab), for the prevention of acute transplant rejection. Diabetes management products under the Accu-Chek brand include blood glucose meter, test strips and insulin pumps, as well as diabetes management software. Other products include: * Cobas Mira


Price-fixing conspiracy

Stanley Adams, Roche's World Product Manager in Basel, contacted the
European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
in 1973 with evidence that Roche had been breaking antitrust laws, engaging in
price fixing Price fixing is an anticompetitive agreement between participants on the same side in a market to buy or sell a product, service, or commodity only at a fixed price, or maintain the market conditions such that the price is maintained at a given ...
and market sharing for vitamins with its competitors. Roche was fined accordingly, but a bungle on the part of the EEC allowed the company to discover that it was Adams who had blown the whistle. He was arrested for unauthorised disclosure — an offence under Swiss law — and imprisoned. His wife, having learnt that he might face decades in jail, committed suicide. In 1999 the firm pleaded guilty to participation in a worldwide conspiracy to raise and fix prices for
vitamins Vitamins are organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolic function. Essential nutrients cannot be synthesized in the organism in suff ...
sold in the US and globally. Hoffmann-La Roche paid $500 million in criminal fines to the United States.


Controversies

During the Second World War, Roche was reported to have collaborated with the Nazi regime in Germany and used prisoners-of-war or foreign forced labour in its German and Polish-based factories. In 2008 the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) suspended Roche for six months for breaching their code of conduct. In 2013, Roche had to pay back billion to the Swiss tax authorities due to transfer mispricing.


Collaborative research

In addition to internal research and development activities F. Hoffmann-La Roche is also involved in publicly funded collaborative research projects, with other industrial and academic partners. One example in the area of non-clinical safety assessment is the InnoMed PredTox. The company is expanding its activities in joint research projects within the framework of the Innovative Medicines Initiative of EFPIA and the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
.


See also

*
List of pharmaceutical companies This listing is limited to those pharmaceutical companies, independent companies and subsidiaries notable enough to have their own articles in Wikipedia. Both going concerns and defunct firms are included, as well as firms that were part of the ...
* Pharmaceutical industry in Switzerland


References


Further reading

* Hans Conrad Peyer (1996) ''Roche – A Company History 1896–1996 '' Basel: Editiones Roche


External links

* * {{authority control Multinational companies headquartered in Switzerland Price fixing convictions Pharmaceutical companies of Switzerland Pharmaceutical companies established in 1896 Life sciences industry Swiss brands Companies listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange Companies in the Swiss Market Index Companies in the Dow Jones Global Titans 50