Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today that it completed the repurchase of Roche shares that had been held by Novartis. On 4 November 2021, Roche and Novartis had announced this repurchase. The Extraordinary General Meeting of Roche Holding Ltd passed the resolutions required for the repurchase and the capital reduction on 26 November 2021. In accordance with the respective resolution of the Extraordinary General Meeting of 26 November 2021, the 53,309,000 shares have now been repurchased by Roche and the corresponding consideration has been transferred to Novartis. The repurchased shares will be cancelled upon completion of the corresponding procedure.

Christoph Franz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Roche: "With this transaction, we regain full strategic flexibility without compromising our operational scope of action. Rating agencies have confirmed the high quality of our ratings. On the basis of an unchanged dividend policy, all holders of Roche equity securities will benefit from the repurchase and the resolved capital reduction by cancellation of the repurchased shares and the earnings accretion resulting therefrom."

As previously announced, the transaction does not change the communicated outlook for the full year. Roche expects a mid-single-digit sales growth at constant exchange rates. Core EPS growth at constant exchange rates is targeted to be broadly in line with sales growth. Furthermore, Roche is aiming at increasing the dividend in Swiss francs also for 2021.

About Roche

Roche is a global pioneer in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics focused on advancing science to improve people’s lives. The combined strengths of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, as well as growing capabilities in the area of data-driven medical insights help Roche deliver truly personalised healthcare. Roche is working with partners across the healthcare sector to provide the best care for each person.

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. In recent years, the company has invested in genomic profiling and real-world data partnerships and has become an industry-leading partner for medical insights.

Founded in 1896, Roche continues to search for better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases and make a sustainable contribution to society. The company also aims to improve patient access to medical innovations by working with all relevant stakeholders. More than thirty 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. Moreover, for the thirteenth consecutive year, Roche has been recognised as one of the most sustainable companies in the pharmaceutical industry by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI).

The Roche Group, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, is active in over 100 countries and in 2020 employed more than 100,000 people worldwide. In 2020, Roche invested CHF 12.2 billion in R&D and posted sales of CHF 58.3 billion. Genentech, in the United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche is the majority shareholder in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan.