EU Competition Authority

AstraZeneca PLC
17 May 2000


ASTRAZENECA - EU COMPETITION AUTHORITY

AstraZeneca confirms that the European Commission earlier this year made
enquiries relating to AstraZeneca's defence of its intellectual property and
other rights relating to omeprazole.

AstraZeneca's policy is to comply with all applicable laws, including
Competition Laws, and this policy is taken very seriously by the Company and
its employees.  AstraZeneca is co-operating fully with the commission with
respect to its enquiries.

AstraZeneca is currently pursuing a number of legal and other commercial steps
which are quite properly designed to protect its hard won franchise relating
to omeprazole ('Losec').  AstraZeneca has no hesitation in vigorously
defending its legitimate legal interests.

AstraZeneca believes that the Commission's investigation may have commenced as
a result of a complaint by a third party which is actually or potentially
involved in generic omeprazole and who may be involved in attempts to 'jump
the gun' before patent expiry in order to improperly obtain a commercial
advantage. The mere fact of an investigation does not in any way imply that
the Commission has come to any conclusions in relation to the matter being
investigated, and AstraZeneca is confident that its actions will be fully
vindicated.

At this time, AstraZeneca has nothing further to add, except that it is
confident that any allegations or complaint are not well founded and will be
held to be unsubstantiated.


Further enquiries to :

Elizabeth Sutton           Tel [phone]
Michael Olsson             Tel [phone]
Ed Seage                   Tel [phone]
Jorgen Winroth             Tel [phone]
                               [phone]