ALTANA Pharma Officially Opens U.S. Headquarters in New Jersey's Pharmaceutical Corridor.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 2002

The U.S. operations of German-based ALTANA Pharma AG, the pharmaceutical division of ALTANA AG (NYSE: AAA), officially opened its late-stage development and marketing headquarters here today.

ALTANA Pharma will operate out of the Park Place campus in Florham Park, occupying 37,000 square feet of a 55,000-square-foot building.

"We selected the Park Place campus because it is in the heart of one of the largest concentrations of pharmaceutical companies in the world," said George Cole, President, ALTANA Pharma. "By establishing our operations here, we have access to extraordinary resources, including a superior labor pool."

ALTANA Pharma has begun to recruit employees for its Florham Park facility, which will market products emerging from the company's research and development program. With the significant potential of the products currently in the development pipeline, the U.S. pharmaceutical company plans to contribute to the future success of ALTANA Pharma AG, which achieved worldwide sales of $1.4 billion in 2001.

"We are extremely pleased that ALTANA Pharma has chosen New Jersey as the site of its U.S. headquarters, joining 19 of the world's largest pharmaceutical and medical technology companies with national and worldwide headquarters in the state," said William D. Watley, Chief Executive Officer and Secretary of the New Jersey Commerce & Economic Growth Commission. "The new ALTANA Pharma site confirms that companies continue to recognize the global benefits of a New Jersey location."

Near downtown Morristown, Park Place has easy access to three Interstate highways. It is 15 miles from Newark International Airport and 20 miles from the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels.

"We are proud to have joined New Jersey's corridor of pharmaceutical industry champions and plan to add to its legacy," said Cole.

ALTANA Pharma

ALTANA Pharma, formerly Byk Gulden, is an international pharmaceutical company focused primarily on respiratory and gastrointestinal treatments. The company had pharmaceutical sales of $1.4 billion USD in 2001. Its U.S.-based operations, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, were established in 2002. A research-driven pharmaceutical company, ALTANA Pharma invests almost 20 percent of pharmaceutical sales into research. The company's rich history of drug development includes the discovery of the blockbuster proton pump inhibitor pantoprazole, marketed in the U.S. by Wyeth-Ayerst as Protonix(R). Going forward, ALTANA Pharma's U.S. operations will market the products developed in its research facilities. ALTANA Pharma's parent company is ALTANA AG, based in Bad Homburg, Germany.