Company Overview

Roche, of which Novartis owns a 33 percent share, began in 1896 as a medical supply company in Basel, Switzerland. In the ’50s and ’60s, Roche attained its leading position in chemotherapy with the drug fluorouracil. In recent years, Roche has continued to focus on cancer therapeutics as well as drugs for rheumatoid arthritis, AIDS and other infectious diseases, and central nervous system disorders. Its top three best-selling drugs are Rituxan, a treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, with sales of nearly $3.16 billion; Epogen, a treatment for anemia, with sales of $1.87 billion; and Herceptin, a cancer treatment, worth $1.78 billion. All told, Roche has seven drugs that exceeded more than $1 billion or more in sales in 2005. And thanks to heavy R&D spending ($3.79 billion in 2005), Roche’s pipeline is loaded with promising new drugs. This is due in part to its 2001 acquisition of Japanese pharmaceutical company Chugai Pharmaceutical, which specialized in the development of therapeutics for central nervous system, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and metabolic disorders. The firm is also expanding into the diagnostics market, focusing primarily on genomics, blood screening, and virology. Roche’s source for genomics information—genetic factors linked to diseases—is Icelandic genetic firm deCODE, with which it made an R&D alliance. The companies continue to work together and in 2004 signed an agreement to develop a product for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, including stroke. Roche also owns some 60 percent of Genentech, which provides about 20 percent of its sales.