454 Sequencing Used at Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology (IGIB) in India.

Branford, Conn. -- Roche has successfully installed the first Genome Sequencer FLX System at the prestigious IGIB, in Delhi, India. IGIB plans to use the system for all applications possible within this revolutionary technology, with a special focus on metagenomics and de novo genome sequencing. The Centre for Genomic Application (TCGA) will provide the sequencing services to the customers.

"The launch of the Genome Sequencer FLX System brings in the area of high throughput sequencing in India. We are confident that it will strengthen India's place at the cutting edge of technology" - said Dr. Bhuwnesh Agrawal, the Managing Director of Indian affiliate of Roche Diagnostics and RAS champion of Asia Pacific.

IGIB, a premier Institute under CSIR (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research) was created with a mission to translate concepts developed in basic biological research to commercially viable technologies for health care. Towards this goal IGIB has been actively carrying out research leading to generation of new knowledge and development of technologies in various areas of Biotechnology with a special focus on Genomics and Genome Informatics.

The Centre for Genomic Application (TCGA) is a collaboration between the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), supported by Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM-The Chatterjee Group). TCGA is the first ever public private partnership project providing life science services in India. It was established, with the best of technologies, to cut down the research time and cost, which is necessary if India had to be a global player in life sciences research, under the new patent regime. TCGA undertakes projects from design to data analysis and also offers highly flexible service packages that are tailored to meet customer needs.

454 Life Sciences, a center of excellence of Roche Applied Science, develops and commercializes the innovative Genome Sequencer[TM] system for ultra-high-throughput DNA sequencing. Specific applications include de novo sequencing and re-sequencing of genomes, metagenomics, RNA analysis, and targeted sequencing of DNA regions of interest. The hallmarks of 454 Sequencing[TM] are its simple, unbiased sample preparation and long, highly accurate sequence reads, including paired reads. 454 Sequencing technology has enabled many peer-reviewed studies in diverse research fields, such as cancer and infectious disease research, drug discovery, marine biology, anthropology, paleontology, and many more.

For additional information, please visit http://www.454.com. For more information on the technology, visit www.roche-applied-science.com/sis/sequencing.

1 Tauch A et al.: Ultrafast pyrosequencing of Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii DSM44385 revealed insights into the physiology of a lipophilic corynebacterium that lacks mycolic acids. J Biotechnol 2008 Mar 20 [Epub ahead of print]

2 Paviour S et al: Corynebacterium species isolated from patients with mastitis. Clin Infect Dis 2002; 35: 1434-1440

About Roche

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As the world's biggest biotech company and an innovator of products and services for the early detection, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people's health and quality of life. Roche is the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics and drugs for cancer and transplantation, a market leader in virology and active in other major therapeutic areas such as autoimmune diseases, inflammation, metabolism and central nervous system. In 2006 sales by the Pharmaceuticals Division totaled 33.3 billion Swiss francs, and the Diagnostics Division posted sales of 8.7 billion Swiss francs. Roche employs roughly 75,000 worldwide 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. For further information, please visit our website at www.roche.com.

454 and Genome Sequencer are trademarks of 454 Life Sciences Corporation, Branford, CT, USA.