AstraZeneca Announces Agreements in Principle in SEROQUEL Product Liability Litigation

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Aug 09, 2010, 06:52 ET

WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) announced today that, as of August 9, it had reached agreements in principle on monetary terms with attorneys representing approximately 17,500 SEROQUEL product liability claimants in the United States for approximately $198 million. The agreements in principle are subject to agreement on non-monetary terms.

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As of June 30, 2010, no provision had been made in respect of any settlements. Any provision would be disregarded in calculating Core earnings and, as such, the Company's Core earnings per share guidance for 2010 remains unchanged at $6.35-$6.65.

The specific terms of the agreements, which are the result of court-ordered mediation, are confidential. AstraZeneca continues to participate in the mediation process covering claims in both federal and state jurisdictions.

As of June 29, approximately 2,900 additional cases have been dismissed by order or agreement and approximately 1,825 of those cases have been dismissed with prejudice. The only jury trial to date resulted in a defense verdict in favor of AstraZeneca.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business with a primary focus on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines. As a leader in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation, oncology and infectious disease medicines, AstraZeneca generated global revenues of $32.8 billion in 2009. In the United States, AstraZeneca is a $14.8 billion healthcare business.

For more information about AstraZeneca in the US or our AZ&Me™ Prescription Savings programs, please visit: www.astrazeneca-us.com or call 1-800-AZandMe (292-6363).

SOURCE AstraZeneca