'Casodex' 150 mg will broaden the range of treatments available to physicians and their patients for prostate cancer and help to maximise the commercial value of 'Casodex'. Based on the combined analysis of two studies 'Casodex' 150mg is the first anti-androgen to demonstrate no overall difference in the risk of death compared to castration in non-metastatic prostate cancer as monotherapy. Quality of life data indicate significant improvements in maintenance of sexual interest and in physical capacity in comparison with those patients who had castration, making 'Casodex' 150mg monotherapy a suitable treatment for men with earlier stage disease.

'Casodex', as a 50 mg once daily tablet, was first introduced in 1995 as a treatment for advanced prostate cancer in combination with an LHRH analogue or surgical castration. It is now available in over 70 markets world-wide with sales in 1998 of £147 million. 'Casodex' is the world's leading brand of anti-androgen.

Commenting on the news Dr John Patterson, Executive Vice-President , Product Strategy and Licensing for AstraZeneca PLC said, "The introduction of 'Casodex' 150 mg is an important step towards achieving our aspirational target of becoming the leading pharmaceutical company in oncology. 'Casodex' 150 mg will provide doctors with an alternative treatment option to castration for some patients, specifically men with earlier stage disease."

AstraZeneca is continuing the tradition of research excellence and innovation that led to the development of its current leading anti-cancer agents. These comprise 'Nolvadex', considered by many doctors to be the gold standard hormonal treatment for breast cancer, 'Zoladex', an LHRH analogue, for the treatment of prostate cancer and advanced breast cancer in pre and peri-menopausal women, 'Arimidex', an aromatase inhibitor for advanced breast cancer and 'Tomudex', a thymidylate synthase inhibitor for the palliative treatment of advanced colorectal cancer. Last year, AstraZeneca committed approximately £160 million of its R&D expenditure on the research and development of new treatments for cancer.