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EPO Announces Symbicort European COPD Use Patent Decision

For business and financial media AstraZeneca today announced that the European Patent Office (EPO) Technical Board of Appeal has made a final ruling that the European Combination patent covering the use of Symbicort (formoterol and budesonide) for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (EPB1014993) has been revoked, following an appeal from generic manufacturers Norton Healthcare and Generics UK. The EPB1014993 is one of two patents covering the Symbicort combination (formoterol and budesonide) in the use of treatment for COPD in the United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Finland, Portugal, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Monaco, Cyprus, Latvia, Romania and Slovenia. The original patent expiration for this patent was 2018. The second of the two patents (EPB1210943) is currently under separate opposition. “Symbicort is a strong brand and constitutes an important part of our growth potential for the coming years in Europe, where we have data exclusivity protection until August 2010,” said David Brennan, Chief Executive Officer of AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca will continue to defend and enforce its remaining intellectual property rights protecting Symbicort. This portfolio includes patents and applications for processes, formulations, delivery devices (M3 Turbuhaler) and use ‘as needed’ (Symbicort SMART), with expiration dates up to 2019. In addition to these patents, Symbicort retains data exclusivity until August 2010 in some European markets. On October 18, 2007 the EPO Technical Board of Appeal made a final ruling that the European Combination patent for Symbicort (EPB 0613371) was revoked. Worldwide sales of Symbicort reached $1.58 billion in 2007, with Europe accounting for $1.34 billion. SYMBICORT® is a trade mark of the AstraZeneca group of companies. - Ends - May 6, 2008 Media Enquiries: Steve Brown +44 207 304 5033 (24 hours) Chris Sampson +44 20 7304 5130 (24 hours) Neil McCrae +44 207 304 5045 (24 hours) Investor Enquiries UK: Jonathan Hunt +44 207 304 5087 mob: +44 7775 704032 Mina Blair +44 20 7304 5084 mob: +44 7718 581021 Karl Hard +44 207 304 5322 mob: +44 7789 654364 Investor Enquiries US: Ed Seage +1 302 886 4065 mob: +1 302 373 1361 Jorgen Winroth +1 212 579 0506 mob: +1 917 612 4043 Peter Vozzo (MedImmune) +1 301 398 4358 mob: +1 301 252 7518 About AstraZeneca AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in research, development, manufacturing and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and supplier for healthcare services. AstraZeneca is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of US $29.55 billion and is a leader in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infection product sales. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index. Broadcast quality footage is available to download from the Media section of our website at: http://br.thenewsmarket.com/Astrazeneca/br/Login/LoginPreRegistration.aspx Journalists will be required to register to access this feature.

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Karl-Johan Karlsson

Karl-Johan Karlsson

Presskontakt Tf presschef, AstraZeneca AB +46735801268
Mathias Holm Pedersen

Mathias Holm Pedersen

Presskontakt Kommunikationschef, AstraZeneca Nordic +45 22937730

Om AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN) är ett globalt, innovationsdrivet bioläkemedelsföretag med fokus på forskning, utveckling och marknadsföring av receptbelagda läkemedel för sjukdomar inom terapiområdena Onkologi, Sällsynta sjukdomar och Bioläkemedel, inklusive kardiovaskulära sjukdomar, njursjukdomar och metabola sjukdomar (CVRM) samt Andningsvägar och Immunologi. AstraZeneca är baserat i Cambridge i Storbritannien och bedriver verksamhet i över 100 länder. Dess innovativa läkemedel används av miljontals patienter över hela världen.