Transaction in Own Shares

AstraZeneca PLC
20 December 2004




                 REPURCHASE OF SHARES IN ASTRAZENECA PLC

AstraZeneca PLC announced that on 17 December 2004, it purchased for
cancellation 3,000,000 ordinary shares of AstraZeneca PLC at a price of 1894
pence per share. Upon the cancellation of these shares, the number of shares in
issue will be 1,646,149,596.



G H R Musker
Company Secretary
20 December 2004


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange