CAT Legal Action with Abbott

Cambridge Antibody Tech Group PLC
21 March 2005



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
5:00 GMT, 12:00 EST Monday 21 March 2005

For further information contact:    
 
Cambridge Antibody Technology              Weber Shandwick Square Mile (Europe)
Tel: [phone]                  Tel: [phone]
Peter Chambre, Chief Executive Officer     Kevin Smith
John Aston, Chief Financial Officer        Yvonne Alexander
Rowena Gardner, Director of 
Corporate Communications
                                           BMC Communications/The Trout Group (USA)
                                           Tel: [phone]
                                           Brad Miles, ext 17 (media)
                                           Brandon Lewis, ext 15 (investors)


CAMBRIDGE ANTIBODY TECHNOLOGY LEGAL ACTION WITH ABBOTT: ABBOTT GRANTED
PERMISSION TO APPEAL

Cambridge, UK... Cambridge Antibody Technology (LSE: CAT; NASDAQ: CATG) reports
the decision by the Rt Hon Lord Justice Jacob, in the Court of Appeal, Civil
Division, to grant Abbott permission to appeal Mr Justice Laddie's judgment in
favour of CAT of 20 December 2004.

In the Order from the Court of Appeal, the reasons for the decision are stated
as follows: "The points raised in (Abbott's) notice of appeal (there is no
separate skeleton argument) appear, just, to raise a real prospect of success
and the commercial importance of the agreements is sufficient in the
circumstances to provide a compelling reason for an appeal."

The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) that govern court procedures, state that
"Permission to appeal will only be given where - (a) the Court considers that
the appeal would have a real prospect of success; or (b) there is some other
compelling reason why the appeal should be heard."

-ENDS-


Notes to Editors
Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT):

   • CAT is a biopharmaceutical company using its proprietary technologies
     and capabilities in human monoclonal antibodies for drug discovery and drug
     development. Based near Cambridge, England, CAT currently employs around 280
     people.
   • CAT is a leader in the discovery and development of human therapeutic
     antibodies and has an advanced proprietary technology for rapidly isolating
     human monoclonal antibodies using phage display and ribosome display systems. 
     CAT has extensive phage antibody libraries, currently incorporating more 
     than 100 billion distinct antibodies. These libraries form the basis for the 
     Company's strategy to develop a portfolio of antibody-based drugs.
   • Four CAT human therapeutic antibody products are now at various stages
     of clinical development, with one further product candidate in pre-clinical
     development.
   • HUMIRA, the leading CAT-derived antibody, isolated and optimised in
     collaboration with Abbott, has been approved for marketing as a treatment
     for rheumatoid arthritis in 51 countries.
   • Six further licensed CAT-derived human therapeutic antibodies are in
     clinical development by licensees, with four further licensed product
     candidates in pre-clinical development.
   • CAT has alliances with a number of pharmaceutical and biotechnology
     companies to discover, develop and commercialise human monoclonal
     antibody-based products.
   • On 22 November 2004, CAT announced a major strategic alliance with
     AstraZeneca to discover and develop human antibody therapeutics in
     inflammatory disorders.
   • CAT has a broad collaboration with Genzyme for the development and
     commercialisation of antibodies directed against TGF, a family of proteins
     associated with fibrosis and scarring.
   • CAT has also licensed its proprietary technologies to several companies.
     CAT's licensees include: Abbott, Amgen, Chugai, Genzyme, Human Genome
     Sciences, Merck & Co, Pfizer and Wyeth Research.
   • CAT is listed on the London Stock Exchange and on NASDAQ. CAT raised
     £41m in its IPO in March 1997 and £93m in a secondary offering in March
     2000.

CAT - Abbott Litigation
   • CAT's entitlement to royalties in relation to sales of HUMIRA is
     governed by an agreement dated 1 April 1995 between Cambridge Antibody
     Technology Limited and Knoll Aktiengesellschaft. The agreement allows for
     offset, in certain circumstances, of royalties due to third parties against
     royalties due to CAT, subject to a minimum royalty level.
   • In March 2003, Abbott indicated to CAT its wish to initiate discussions
     regarding the applicability of the royalty offset provisions for HUMIRA.
     Following unsuccessful efforts to resolve the matter with Abbott, CAT
     commenced legal proceedings against Abbott Biotechnology Limited and Abbott
     GmbH.
   • The trial, which took place at the High Court in London, began on 22
     November 2004 and lasted three weeks.
   • On 20 December 2004, the judge, Mr Justice Laddie, ruled in CAT's favour
     stating that "Abbott was in error when it made its first royalty payment to
     CAT calculated on the basis that only 2% of the Net Sales was due. It should
     have calculated on the basis of the full royalty of just over 5% and should
     have paid and continued to pay CAT accordingly."
   • On 28 January 2005, CAT reported the decisions of Mr Justice Laddie on
     various procedural matters, including the denial of Abbott's request for
     permission to appeal.
   • On 11 February 2005, Abbott made a written application to the Court of
     Appeal for permission to appeal Mr Justice Laddie's judgment of 20 December
     2004.

   • In January 2005, Abbott paid to CAT US$23.73 million, representing
     royalty arrears due to CAT arising from the original judgment, and an
     additional sum of US$1.29 million, representing interest and compensation
     for currency loss on this amount. Abbott also paid CAT £2.85 million
     representing an interim payment of legal costs due. These amounts are not
     reflected in the first quarter results announced on 7 February 2005. Were
     Abbott to be successful in its appeal these amounts would be repayable.
   • Pending resolution of Abbott's appeal, the royalty arrears payment will
     not be recognised as revenue, the payment on account of costs will not be
     recognised in the profit and loss account and revenue in respect of
     subsequent royalty receipts will only be recognised at the two per cent rate
     argued by Abbott. A proportion of CAT's royalty receipts, and of the royalty
     arrears payment, are payable to the Medical Research Council and other
     licensors.

Application of the Safe Harbor of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995: This press release contains statements about Cambridge Antibody
Technology Group plc ("CAT") that are forward looking statements. All statements
other than statements of historical facts included in this press release may be
forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. These forward looking statements are based on numerous
assumptions regarding the company's present and future business strategies and
the environment in which the company will operate in the future. Certain factors
that could cause the company's actual results, performance or achievements to
differ materially from those in the forward looking statements include: market
conditions, CAT's ability to enter into and maintain collaborative arrangements,
success of product candidates in clinical trials, regulatory developments and
competition. We caution investors not to place undue reliance on the forward
looking statements contained in this press release. These statements speak only
as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to update
or revise the statements.





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