Switzerland was warned that its role as one of the world's leading biomedical research centres would be "totally crippled" if genetic engineering was banned. Fritz Gerber, chairman of Roche, Switzerland's second biggest pharmaceutical company, said if Switzerland's June 7 referendum on a "genetic protection" bill was passed, it would mean that many Swiss scientists working on cures for diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's disease, AIDS, diabetes and multiple sclerosis "would have to cease work."