Roche: a stalwart in the pharmaceuticals sector Created in Basel in 1896 by Fritz Hoffmann, La Roche, the Roche Group is today one of the major pharmaceuticals groups in the world. Its vocation is to design and produce drugs, diagnostic tools and therapeutic drugs for treating people and improving their quality of life. It has split its operations into two divisions: Pharmaceuticals, the division dedicated to developing drugs, such as Rennie (stomach problems), Tamiflu (colds), Roaccutan (acne) and Rocephin (an antibiotic), amongst others. The Diagnostic division develops both culture solutions and tools for optimizing medical diagnoses. Roche became the world leader in this field after the acquisition of Corange.