Lawsuit Against Lek Pharmaceutical & Chemical

AstraZeneca PLC
21 June 2000


ASTRAZENECA FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST LEK PHARMACEUTICAL AND CHEMICAL COMPANY D.D.

AstraZeneca has filed a lawsuit in New York against LEK Pharmaceutical and
Chemical Company d.d. (LEK) and its US subsidiary, LEK USA, Inc. for patent
infringement.

The lawsuit is the result of an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) filed
by LEK with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concerning its intent to
market a generic omeprazole product in the US.  The antisecretory drug
omeprazole is marketed in the US by AstraZeneca, L.P. under the brand name
'Prilosec' and is marketed internationally by AstraZeneca as 'Losec'.

The basis for AstraZeneca's complaint is that the action by LEK infringes
several patents relating to 'Prilosec', which provide protection to the year
2014.  These patents include coverage for formulations and for methods of
using 'Prilosec'.  The substance patent, which expires in 2001, has not been
challenged by LEK.

AstraZeneca intends to fully enforce its patent rights and is steadfast in its
belief that all of the patents are valid.

21 June 2000

Further enquires to:

Elizabeth Sutton : tel [phone]
Ed Seage : tel [phone]       
Jorgen Winroth :  tel [phone]