Under the terms of the settlement, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP will admit to having violated the Prescription Drug Marketing Act by providing free samples of Zoladex® to physicians during the period 1993 through 1996, with the understanding that these physicians would bill Medicare for reimbursement. AstraZeneca will also settle, without admitting liability, civil claims involving allegations that the Company provided inducements to physicians to purchase Zoladex® and for improperly setting and reporting its price.

The settlement also provides for a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services under which AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP is required, among other obligations, to keep in place its current Compliance Program and provide periodic reports to the OIG on the status of compliance activities.

AstraZeneca understands that the government investigation is closed, all outstanding issues related to the investigation are resolved and no indictments of current or former employees are expected.

The total payment associated with the negotiated settlement is $354,900,000. This amount includes funds set aside to cover individual settlement agreements with the states involving related claims. The company previously announced that it set aside $350,000,000 to cover these settlement costs in its 2002 Annual Results and subsequently in the 20-F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the top five pharmaceutical companies in the world with healthcare sales of over $17.8 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, oncology, cardiovascular, neuroscience and respiratory products. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global and European) as well as the FTSE4Good Index.