Hoffmann-La Roche
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| Aktiengesellschaft | |
| Traded as | SIX: ROG, OTCQX: |
| Industry | Pharmaceuticals |
| Founded | 1896 |
| Founder | Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche |
| Headquarters | Basel, Switzerland |
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Key people
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Christoph Franz (Chairman of the board), Severin Schwan (CEO), Daniel O'Day (CEO, Pharmaceuticals), Roland Diggelmann (CEO, Diagnostics) |
| Products | Pharmaceuticals and diagnostics (List of products) |
| Revenue | 47.462 billion Swiss francs (CHF) (2014) |
| CHF 14.090 billion (2014) | |
| Profit | CHF 9.535 billion (2014) |
| Total assets | CHF 47.272 billion (2014) |
| Total equity | CHF 21.558 billion (2014) |
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Number of employees
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88,509 (2014) |
| Subsidiaries | Genentech, Ventana |
| Website | www.roche.com |
F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG is a Swiss multinational health-care company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has bearer shares listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The company headquarters are located in Basel.
The company controls the American biotechnology company Genentech, which is a wholly owned affiliate, and the Japanese biotechnology company Chugai Pharmaceuticals, as well as the Tucson, Arizona-based Ventana. Roche's revenues during fiscal year 2014 were 47.46 billion Swiss francs, or approximately US$48 billion. Roche is the third-largest pharma company worldwide. 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 owning a further third of its shares. Roche is one of the few companies increasing their dividend every year, for 2013 as the 27th consecutive year. F. Hoffmann-La Roche is a full member of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).
Founded in 1896 by Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche, the company was early on known for producing various vitamin preparations and derivatives. In 1934, it became the first company to mass-produce synthetic vitamin C, under the brand name Redoxon. In 1957 it introduced the class of tranquilizers known as benzodiazepines (with Valium and Rohypnol 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. Iproniazid, however, 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.
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