Court Ruling

AstraZeneca PLC
17 November 2000


SWEDISH COURT RULES IN ASTRAZENECA'S FAVOUR IN OMEPRAZOLE SPC CASE

AstraZeneca today announced that the Stockholm District Court has ruled that
Scand Pharm's generic omeprazole product infringes AstraZeneca's Supplementary
Patent Certificate (SPC) for omeprazole, which provides protection until 15
November 2002.

Omeprazole is the active ingredient in 'Losec', a treatment for stomach acid
disorders.

The judgement follows an earlier preliminary injunction granted to
AstraZeneca.

Dr. Martin Nicklasson, Executive Vice-President of AstraZeneca's GI Franchise,
said: 'We are delighted by this judgement, which confirms our opinion that the
SPC for omeprazole is in force and prevents generic omeprazole products from
entering the market.'

In 1999, 'Losec MUPS' had sales of USD 90m in Sweden, representing 1.5 per
cent of total sales of the product.

The substance patent for omeprazole in Sweden expired in April, 1999.  A
decision is pending on AstraZeneca's  appeal against a ruling by the Swedish
Patent and Registration Office (PRV) that an SPC, granted under Swedish law,
had lapsed due to the surrender of marketing authorisation for 'Losec'
capsules.

AstraZeneca has also filed a main action for infringement of the formulation
patent for omeprazole against Scand Pharm.


17 November 2000

Further Enquiries to:

Michael Olsson:       Tel. [phone]
Ed Seage:             Tel. [phone]
Jorgen Winroth:       Tel. [phone]