Preliminary Injunctions

ASTRAZENECA PLC
9 September 1999


ASTRAZENECA TO APPEAL DENIAL OF OMEPRAZOLE INTERLOCUTORY
INJUNCTIONS IN GERMANY


AstraZeneca today announced it will appeal against a decision, not
yet received in written form,  by the District Court in Munich not
to grant AstraZeneca's request for preliminary injunctions to
prevent CT-Arzneimittel GmbH and Stadapharm GmbH to continue to sell
generic omeprazole products in Germany.  The decision was based on
procedural grounds.  The reasons given by the Court were that
AstraZeneca had not filed the requests for preliminary injunctions
soon enough after these generic products were put on the German
market.  Omeprazole is the substance used in Losec.

AstraZeneca has filed requests in Germany for preliminary
injunctions against seven companies, has filed five main actions and
is currently defending its patent rights in seven other patent cases
related to omeprazole.

'This is just one small step in a complicated, larger legal picture
in German and this decision does not change AstraZeneca's view that
the generic industry uses AstraZeneca's patented technology and we
are currently pursuing further actions in Germany,' says Dr. Martin
Nicklasson, Executive Vice President GI Franchise.

The substance patent for omeprazole began expiring in the first
countries in 1999.  In most countries, AstraZeneca has been granted
Patent Term Extensions or Supplementary Protection Certificates
(SPCs).  This extended coverage for the substance expires in the USA
in 2001, in most European countries in 2002-2004, and in Japan in
2004.  The product is also protected by patents directed to
formulations, uses, intermediates and processes.

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