Patients with very high levels of virus in their blood (>100,000 copies/mL)

Patients with different patterns of drug resistance

Across ages

Submissions for marketing authorisations for Fuzeon were filed with the EU and US FDA earlier this September for use in combination with other antiretroviral therapies for HIV-1 infection. Roche and Trimeris also unveil early (phase I/II) data on a second generation fusion inhibitor candidate, T-1249, strengthening the pipeline of drugs that offers hope to treatment-experienced HIV patients.

Fuzeon is the front-runner in clinical development of a new class of antiretroviral drugs called "fusion inhibitors". Fuzeon is designed to block HIV replication in a completely different manner than current antiretroviral drugs. Unlike existing anti-HIV drugs that work inside the cell, Fuzeon is designed to block HIV from entering healthy human immune cells. Fuzeon's unique mechanism of action means it is active against HIV that is resistant to the currently available classes of anti-HIV drugs - thereby addressing a growing unmet need in the developed world.

Results pooled from three phase II trials demonstrate that Fuzeon is well tolerated up to 96 weeks. In study T20-205, the incidence and pattern of side effects over the second year were similar to those seen in the first year. Therefore, to date, no new previously unseen side effects associated with long-term use of Fuzeon have been observed. Across the three studies, discontinuations due to injection sites reactions were uncommon comprising approximately 2% of patients, similar to the phase III observations that injection sites reactions are manageable by the great majority of patients.

An important production milestone has recently been achieved by the Roche Colorado manufacturing facility –completion of the first three validation batches of the active ingredient for Fuzeon. These were successfully accomplished despite the enormous challenges of manufacturing such a complex molecule at this scale presents. Fuzeon is one of the most challenging molecules ever chemically manufactured at such a large scale by the pharmaceutical industry. The combination of the efficacy, tolerability and adherence data with the increasing incidence of drug resistance means demand for Fuzeon may be greater than initially anticipated. Therefore, the launch will be carefully managed to ensure continuous drug supply for all patients beginning Fuzeon therapy.

The Fuzeon International Early Access Programme is designed to ensure that as many patients as possible in need of a new therapy receive Fuzeon before it becomes commercially available. The drug supply will support a total of 1200 patients in the Early Access Programme between October 02 and March 03 and drug will be made available simultaneously across Europe, Australia, Canada and the US. The Early Access Programme will be free of charge to patients and bring the total number of patients on Fuzeon to approximately 3000 by March 2003.

Early data (phase I/II) presented for T-1249 show promise as a further novel drug in the fusion inhibitor class. In T1249-101, a 14 day monotherapy study amongst 113 highly treatment experienced, Fusion Inhibitor naive patients, T-1249 was well tolerated, with the most common adverse events related to T-1249 being those associated with injection site reactions. T-1249 also showed characteristics that support once-daily dosing and demonstrated potent, dose-dependent antiretroviral activity. A median maximum change of -2.0 log10 copies/mL was observed in patients receiving T-1249 at a dose of 200 mg/day. The development of T-1249 is approximately three years behind that of Fuzeon.

--Ends--

It is estimated that in a single untreated person the virus can mutate to form around a billion new and potentially different versions of HIV in just 24 hours. The incidence of drug resistant HIV among already treated patients is increasing at a disturbing rate, with up to 78 percent of patients in North America and Europe infected with a strain of the virus that has developed resistance to one or more anti-HIV drug.

Roche is at the forefront of efforts to combat HIV infection and AIDS, committed since 1986 to groundbreaking research and development of innovative new drugs and diagnostic technology. Saquinavir was the first Protease Inhibitor (PI) and was first introduced by Roche in 1995 in the US.

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world’s leading research-orientated healthcare groups. The company's two core businesses in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics provide innovative products and services, that address prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, thus enhancing people’s health and quality of life.

Note: Except for any historical information presented herein, matters presented in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The results of Trimeris’ previous clinical trials are not necessarily indicative of future clinical trials, and future results could differ materially from the results presented herein. Factors that could cause of contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the "Risk Factors" section included in Trimeris’ Form S-3 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 23, 2002 as amended.

For more information, please contact:

Alexander Watson	Maria Vigneau
Ketchum, London	Roche, Basel
Mobile: + 44 7712 675 990	Mobile: + 41 79 506 9941
Telephone: + 44 20 7611 3663	Telephone: + 41 61 688 9291
E-Mail: [email protected]	E-Mail: [email protected]