Roche is pleased to announce the launch of a secondment policy. This policy has been developed to enable its employees to experience unique personal development opportunities whilst contributing their skills and expertise to help make a real difference in health related projects in the world's poorest countries.

"We recognise that the people of Roche are responsible for the success of our business and we are proud to be able to share their skills and expertise to benefit those in the greatest need", comments Franz B Humer, Roche chairman and CEO. "We hope that through this policy, we can demonstrate not only our interest in developing innovative solutions to increase access to healthcare in resource-poor countries, but also the immense value we place in our people. We actively support our colleagues in exploring this opportunity further, as this offers a real chance to make a lasting contribution that could change their lives, and the lives of those they help".

The secondment policy builds on Roche's innovative activities to improve health in least developed countries, by exploring ways in which the capabilities of the company and its employees can be used to make a positive difference.

The Roche secondment policy is open to all full time employees who have had a minimum of five years service with Roche and have demonstrated consistent high performance. Generally, each secondment is anticipated to last between 3 and 18 months, depending on the project.

Roche employees are invited to identify and join suitable projects in the world's Least Developed Countries, as defined by the United Nations, these include: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, United Republic of Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Yemen, and Zambia.