Capital Group

AstraZeneca PLC
23 June 2004


COMPANIES ACT 1985 SECTION 198
DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST IN VOTING SHARES IN PUBLIC COMPANIES

ON 23 JUNE 2004 WE WERE INFORMED BY THE CAPITAL GROUP COMPANIES, INC., A
REGISTERED INVESTMENT MANAGER IN THE U.S., THAT ON 21 JUNE 2004 ITS INTEREST IN
THE USD0.25 ORDINARY SHARES OF ASTRAZENECA PLC HAD CHANGED TO 264,149,333 SHARES
(15.76 PER CENT OF THE CURRENT ISSUED ORDINARY CAPITAL) FROM THE PREVIOUSLY
NOTIFIED LEVEL OF 264,669,595 SHARES (15.74 PER CENT OF THE SHARES THEN IN
ISSUE).  THE REASON FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS THAT, WITHIN THE SAID HOLDING OF
15.76 PER CENT OF THE ISSUED ORDINARY CAPITAL OF ASTRAZENECA PLC, CAPITAL
GUARDIAN TRUST COMPANY, AN AFFILIATE OF THE CAPITAL GROUP COMPANIES, INC., HAS
DECREASED ITS INTEREST IN THESE SHARES TO 100,244,369 SHARES (5.98 PER CENT OF
THE CURRENT ISSUED ORDINARY CAPITAL) FROM THE PREVIOUSLY NOTIFIED LEVEL OF
101,574,866 SHARES (6.04 PER CENT OF THE SHARES THEN IN ISSUE).

G H R MUSKER
COMPANY SECRETARY
23 JUNE 2004


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange