Collaboration with Centocor

Synairgen plc
09 March 2005


9 March 2005

              Synairgen signs collaboration agreement with Centocor

Synairgen plc, based in Southampton, UK is pleased to announce a collaboration
with Centocor Inc of Pennsylvania USA, part of the Johnson and Johnson family of
companies.  The details of the collaboration have not been disclosed.

Centocor is a leading biopharmaceutical company that creates, acquires and
markets cost-effective therapies that yield long-term benefits for patients and
the healthcare community. Centocor is dedicated to the research and development
of treatments for a wide range of diseases including cancer, infectious
diseases, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and Immune-Mediated Inflammatory
Disorders (IMID), such as arthritis and inflammatory skin diseases.

Centocor's products, developed primarily through monoclonal antibody technology,
help physicians deliver innovative treatments to improve human health and
restore patients' quality of life.

Synairgen specialises in respiratory diseases and is investigating the
underlying mechanisms of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
in order to develop new therapies. It has three collaborations in place already
with Cambridge Antibody Technology, Merck Frosst and a large North American
biotechnology company.

Commenting on the collaboration, Richard Marsden, Managing Director said: 'We
are pleased to announce our collaboration with Centocor. This is our fourth
collaboration since the Company started and we are delighted with the progress
we are making.'

                                     -Ends-

Synairgen                              Tel: [phone]
Richard Marsden

Hogarth Partnership                    Tel: [phone]
Melanie Toyne-Sewell / Georgina Briscoe

Centocor                               Tel: [phone]
Michael Parks

Notes for Editors:
1.       Synairgen
Synairgen was founded by Professors Stephen Holgate, Donna Davies and Ratko
Djukanovic (the Founders), a world-renowned respiratory research team from the
University of Southampton (the University), and spun-out from the University in
June 2003, supported by funding from IP2IPO Group plc. In October 2004 the
Company floated on AiM, raising £10.0 million (£9.0 million net of expenses) to
enhance its research and development capabilities and invest in its proprietary
programmes.

2.       Asthma
According to the World Health Organisation, between 100 and 150 million people
around the globe suffer from asthma and this number is rising. Asthma prevalence
in the UK is now 3-4 times higher in adults and 6 times higher in children than
it was 25 years ago, and currently it accounts for 1,400 deaths in the UK per
year. In the United States, there are approximately 17-20 million sufferers and
the cost is estimated to be about $13 billion per annum. There are limited
therapies available for severe asthma and the potential for treatments
satisfying this largely unmet need is significant, as demonstrated by the
projected sales of $3.3 billion in 2012 for Xolair(R).

3.       COPD
COPD encompasses a number of diseases, including the smoking-related lung
diseases, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The prevalence of COPD is estimated
at 16-17% in the US and Europe. Globally it is killing 2.7 million people per
annum and is forecast to become the third largest cause of death in the world by
2020. COPD is underserved by current treatments.

Sales of pharmaceutical products used to treat asthma and COPD in major
pharmaceutical markets in 2002 were estimated to be $7.0 billion and $2.7
billion respectively and are forecast to reach $12.8 billion and $5.8 billion in
2012.



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