Roche's Susan Graf Honored as 2011 HBA Rising Star

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May 05, 2011, 09:00 ET

NUTLEY, N.J., May 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Susan Graf, of Nutley, N.J., Global Head of Strategic Evaluation and Due Diligence in Roche Partnering, was honored as a 2011 Rising Star by the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA) at the organization's annual awards luncheon today in New York City.

"I have had the pleasure of working with Susan on a number of projects over the past few years. We are all extremely proud of her and fully aware of the many contributions she has made to the overall success of our company," said Ivor Macleod, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and General Manager of Roche's Nutley site. "Susan is thoroughly deserving of this prestigious award."

The HBA, based in Fairfield, NJ (www.hbanet.org), is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to furthering the advancement of women in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Its Rising Star Award recognizes women whose outstanding accomplishments make a difference in the industry.

"Susan is an outstanding leader who has extensive knowledge of the pharmaceutical business and a strong science background - a combination that has earned the appreciation and respect of those inside and outside the company," said Dan Zabrowski, PhD, Global Head, Roche Partnering.

Graf is responsible for an 11-person international team that evaluates the scientific, technical and business aspects of all the licensing and acquisition deals that Roche reviews. She joined Roche in 1995 as a pharmaceutical engineer in manufacturing and held positions of increasing responsibility in sales, marketing analytics, marketing and business development before being named Global Head of Strategic Evaluation in 2009 and then promoted to her current position earlier this year. She earned an M.B.A. from the Stern School of Business at New York University in 2003, and holds a B.S. in Pharmacy from Purdue University, IN, where she was honored last year as one of the University's "40 under [age] 40" top achievers. Graf is a licensed pharmacist in Illinois and New Jersey, as well as a member of the Licensing Executives Society and the American Pharmaceutical Association.

The Rising Star recognition, she said, adds fuel to her passion for work. "My job allows me to be very close to cutting edge science but also has a very real business element, so I feel like I have the best of both worlds," she said, adding, "I'm very honored and flattered by the HBA award, and appreciate that my efforts are valued by my colleagues."

About Roche

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is the world's largest biotech company with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, virology, inflammation, metabolism and CNS. Roche is also the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics, tissue-based cancer diagnostics and a pioneer in diabetes management. Roche's personalized healthcare strategy aims at providing medicines and diagnostic tools that enable tangible improvements in the health, quality of life and survival of patients. In 2010, Roche had over 80,000 employees worldwide and invested over 9 billion Swiss francs ($8.7B US) in R&D. The Group posted sales of 47.5 billion Swiss francs ($45.6B US). Genentech, United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche has a majority stake in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan. For more information: www.roche-nutley.com or www.roche.com.

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SOURCE Roche