Prilosec Appeal Result

AstraZeneca PLC
12 December 2003





           AstraZeneca Prilosec(R) Patents Upheld by Federal

                             Appeals Court





AstraZeneca today announced that a three judge panel of the United States Court
of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the October 2001 decision by U.S.
District Court Judge Barbara S. Jones, finding that Andrx, Genpharm and Cheminor
infringed AstraZeneca's patents for Prilosec(R) (omeprazole), and that the two
formulation patents are not invalid. The Court also upheld the judgment that
Kudco's formulation did not infringe.


AstraZeneca is pleased with the Court's decision upholding the validity of our
patents, again reaffirming the strength of our intellectual property.



Prilosec is a treatment for acid-related stomach disorders.



12 December 2003



Media Enquiries:

Steve Brown, [phone]

Edel McCaffrey, [phone]



Investor Enquiries:

Mina Blair-Robinson, [phone]

Jonathan Hunt, +44  (0) 207 304 5087



-Ends-


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