ADVISORY/Big Pharma CEOs Gather at the Third Annual Pharmaceuticals Roundtable Hosted by Economist Conferences.

Business Editors

ADVISORY...for Wednesday (Nov.19)

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

       November 19th-20th 2003, The Union League of Philadelphia

WHAT:   Economist Conferences convenes the highest-profile
        Pharmaceuticals Roundtable of the year, welcoming the
        industry's most senior executives on November 19th-20th 2003
        in Philadelphia. The meeting features the CEOs of Eli Lilly
        and Roche in a series of discussions on innovative strategies
        for kick-starting growth.

        The Roundtable is a two-day exploration of the challenges
        facing senior-level pharmaceutical executives, including
        preparing for business in a post-blockbuster era, delivering
        innovation, transforming drug discovery, expanding access to
        prescription drugs, and exploring emerging models for global
        branding.

WHO:    The Roundtable convenes the industry's top CEOs and leading
        experts. Participants will exchange ideas with a speaker
        faculty represented by big pharma, biotech, academia and
        advocacy groups, including:

        AAHP/HIAA - Stephanie W Kanwit, Special Counsel and SVP
        AARP - William D Novelli, Executive Director and CEO
        AstraZeneca - Tony Zook, SVP, Commercial Operations
        AT Kearney - Christopher White, VP, Pharmaceuticals
         and Healthcare Practice
        Biogen IDEC - Hans Peter Hasler, SVP
        Columbia Business School and School of Public Health -
         Francoise Simon, Professor
        Eli Lilly - Sidney Taurel, Chairman, President and CEO
        Eli Lilly - Lori Queisser, VP and Chief Compliance Officer
        Human Genome Sciences - William A Haseltine, Chairman and CEO
        Johnson & Johnson - Jack M Kloeber Jr, Portfolio Management,
             Pharmaceutical Research and Development
        Novartis - Rainer Boehm, VP, Intercontinental Region,
             Novartis Oncology
        Oracle Corporation - Doug Renert, VP, Healthcare
        Pfizer - M Kenneth Bowler, VP, Federal Government Relations
             and Corporate Affairs
        Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) -
             Alan F Holmer, President and CEO
        Roche - George B Abercrombie, President and CEO,
             Roche North American Pharmaceuticals Operations
        Takeda - Dean Hart, SVP, Sales
        The Economist - Ben Edwards, American Business Editor
        Tufts University - Kenneth I Kaitin, Director,
             Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development
        Wyeth Discovery Research - Frank S Walsh, SVP

        The event is sponsored by Oracle Corporation, AT Kearney,
        Applied Biosystems, Sun Microsystems and IDA Ireland. The
        Roundtable is supported by PhRMA.



WHERE:  The Union League of Philadelphia
        140 South Broad Street
        Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102

WHEN:   November 19th-20th 2003
        Day one: 8:00 am-5:30 pm EST
        Day two: 8:00 am-3:30 pm EST

HOW:    For further information or to enquire about a press pass,
        please contact:
        Inna Getselis, tel [phone],
         e-mail [e-mail].
        More information is available at www.economistconferences.com.