AstraZeneca granted coordination of Prilosec US patent cases

® ASTRAZENECA GRANTED COORDINATION OF PRILOSEC US PATENT CASES AstraZeneca today announced that the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has ordered that all pending patent infringement cases in the United States relating to omeprazole should be coordinated for pretrial proceedings in the District Court of Southern District of New York. AstraZeneca filed its motion before the Panel in May 1999, requesting coordination of the pretrial proceedings of the patent actions in New York. There are presently patent infringement cases pending against Andrx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Genpharm, Inc., Kremers Urban Development Co/Schwarz Pharma, Inc., and Cheminor Drugs, Ltd./Reddy-Cheminor, Inc. The lawsuits were filed in Florida, New York, Wisconsin and New Jersey respectively. The lawsuits are the results of Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) filed by the four companies with the FDA concerning their intent to market a generic omeprazole product in the US. Omeprazole is marketed in the US under the brand Prilosec and is marketed ® internationally as Losec . Media: Chris Major, tel +44 171 304 5028 Investor Relations: Michael Olsson, tel +46 8 553 259 52 Elizabeth Sutton, tel +44 171 304 5101 Jörgen Winroth, tel +1 609 896 4148 ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/08/23/19990823BIT00020/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/08/23/19990823BIT00020/bit0002.pdf