Patent Writ

AstraZeneca PLC
09 March 2006


         AstraZeneca commences patent infringement litigation against IVAX


AstraZeneca announced today that it has filed a lawsuit in the United States
District Court for the District of New Jersey against IVAX Corporation, IVAX
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Zenith Laboratories, Inc. (collectively 'IVAX'), and
IVAX's parent, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and its U.S. subsidiary, Teva
Pharmaceuticals USA, 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 IVAX
with the US Food and Drug Administration regarding IVAX's intent to market a
generic version of AstraZeneca's NEXIUM in the US prior to the expiration of
five AstraZeneca Patents:  5,714,504; 5,877,192; 6,369,085; 6,428,810; and
6,875,872.  The expiration dates for these patents range from 2014 through to
2019.


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


                                     -Ends-

March 9, 2006


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