Nexium

AstraZeneca PLC
22 November 2005

AstraZeneca Commences Patent Infringement Litigation Against Ranbaxy
Laboratories

AstraZeneca announced today that it has filed a lawsuit in the United States
District Court for the District of New Jersey against Ranbaxy Laboratories for
willful infringement of AstraZeneca's patents protecting NEXIUM(R) (esomeprazole
magnesium).

The lawsuit is in response to an Abbreviated New Drug Application filed by
Ranbaxy with the US Food and Drug Administration regarding Ranbaxy's intent to
market a generic version of AstraZeneca's NEXIUM in the US prior to the
expiration of six AstraZeneca Patents: 5,714,504; 5,877,192; 6,369,085;
6,428,810, 6,875,872 and 5,948,789.  The expiration dates for these patents
range from 2014 through 2019.


AstraZeneca has full confidence in and will continue vigorously to defend and
enforce its intellectual property rights protecting NEXIUM.


22 November 2005

Media Enquiries:


Edel McCaffrey, Tel: [phone]
Steve Brown, Tel: [phone]
Investor Enquiries:



Mina Blair, Tel: [phone]
Jonathan Hunt, Tel:  [phone]
Ed Seage, Tel: [phone]
Jorgen Winroth, Tel + 1 212 579 0506



-Ends-


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