ZENECA AGROCHEMICALS AND CAMBRIDGE DISCOVERY CHEMISTRY ANNOUNCE COLLABORATION

Zeneca Agrochemicals

Cambridge Discovery Chemistry

De Facto Group plc

Note to News Editors:

• Cambridge Discovery Chemistry (formerly known as Cambridge Combinatorial Limited) provides world-class, innovative chemistry services to accelerate discovery and process research, servicing the pharmaceutical, agrochemical and biotechnology industries. The Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oxford Molecular Group Plc. Cambridge Discovery Chemistry has developed leading technologies for discovery research including innovative molecular design, novel chemistries, new synthetic chemistry platforms and a comprehensive integrated informatics system. The company acts as an extension to the resources of its collaborators with solutions for discovery research including medicinal and combinatorial chemistry for lead generation, validation, optimisation and technology transfer as required.
• Cambridge Discovery Chemistry supplies the molecular design and synthesis arm of Oxford Molecular's Collaborative Discovery. Collaborative Discovery acts as a central point for multi-disciplinary research projects involving both chemistry and biology research. Cambridge Discovery Chemistry has secured many discovery collaborations with a range of pharmaceutical, agrochemical and biotechnology companies spanning the US, Japan and Europe these include: Merck & Co. Inc., Pfizer, Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals Inc., Rohm & Haas, Alizyme, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Yamanouchi and Fujisawa.
• Oxford Molecular is a leading provider of discovery and software solutions to the life sciences market. The Company seeks to deliver excellence in all its products and services and to help its customers benefit from the synergy that is created from the integration of state-of-the-art chemistry, biology and information technology infrastructure.
• The Discovery Solutions Division offers discovery research through collaboration, by providing world-class innovative technologies in chemistry and biology which intimately match customer needs and add value to their research programmes. The Software Solutions Division supplies enterprise-wide software and information technology solutions for research across the entire drug discovery process. Innovative and superior products target customer needs for excellence in each area of discovery research; and together they form integrated solutions that add value to the flow of information through the customer's research process. The Company has its headquarters in Oxford, England and has operations throughout the USA as well as sales offices and agents around the world.
• Zeneca Agrochemicals is the crop protection and plant science business of AstraZeneca. It is the third largest supplier to this international market, with sales in 1998 of $2.88 billion in over 130 countries. AstraZeneca (Registered Office, London) is a leading international pharmaceuticals and bioscience group with 1998 pro forma sales of $17.26 billion.
• On 2 December 1999 it was announced by the Board of AstraZeneca PLC that it had agreed with the Board of Novartis AG to demerge and simultaneously merge AstraZeneca's agrochemicals and Novartis' agrochemicals and seeds business to create a new listed company, Syngenta AG. The merger, which is subject to various conditions including competition authority and shareholder approval, is expected to be completed in the second half of 2000.