Seminar on Merck Arrangements

AstraZeneca PLC
14 March 2006









                     AstraZeneca Education Seminar on Merck arrangements

On Tuesday, 14 March 2006 at 13:00gmt (14:00cet, 08:00est) AstraZeneca will
conduct an education seminar on the topic of the Company's arrangements with
Merck.  Details for accessing the audio webcast of this seminar are listed
below.



The objective for the seminar is to promote an understanding of the broad
financial implications that are possible as a result of various termination
scenarios provided for in the agreements, with a principal focus on the period
beginning in 2008.



The slides to be used in the presentation are now available on the Company's
website, www.astrazeneca.com.



Much of the content in the slides has been excerpted from the AstraZeneca 2005
Annual Report and Form 20-F (pages 52-54, page 97, and pages 116-118).



Commenting on the seminar content, AstraZeneca Chief Financial Officer Jon
Symonds said, 'While the subject matter can appear complex, the conclusions are
relatively straightforward.  Based on our current estimates, if Merck exercises
the First Option in 2008, the net payment to Merck is unlikely to exceed the
minimum value of $3.3 billion.  Secondly, the estimated impact on our Profit and
Loss account from 2008 onwards will be neutral to slightly positive to earnings
on a cash basis (that is excluding amortization of capitalized intangibles
associated with the payment to Merck), and slightly negative on an accounting
basis (including amortization of the intangible assets).  The payment will be
made from existing cash resources, with no effect on our shareholder
distribution policy.





Audio webcast



There will be an audio webcast with sychronised slides.  During the Q&A session
you will be able to email questions to Jon Symonds.



Printable .pdf versions (b/w) of the slides are now available to download on the
AstraZeneca Investors website (www.astrazeneca.com/node/investor.aspx).



A replay of the webcast will be available for viewing on the AstraZeneca
Investors website from 15:30gmt on Tuesday 14 March.  The indexed version will
be available from 09:00gmt on Wednesday 15 March until 17:00gmt on Tuesday 28
March 2006.



14 March 2006



Media Enquiries:

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



Investor Relations:

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





-Ends-


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