Andrx Announces Settlement with Indirect Purchaser Class of Plaintiffs Regarding Cardizem CD Antitrust Litigation.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2003

Andrx Corporation (Nasdaq:ADRX) today announced that, together with Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., it has entered into a settlement agreement in the Cardizem(R) CD antitrust litigation with the indirect purchaser class of plaintiffs as well as the state attorney generals for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The settlement agreement is subject to approval by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The settlement requires a total payment of $80 million by Aventis and Andrx, with each party's payment responsibility remaining confidential.

Andrx's portion of this settlement is covered by the $60 million charge previously recorded by Andrx in its operating results for the second quarter of 2002. At that time, Andrx entered into a settlement with the direct purchaser class of plaintiffs (other than those who have sued separately or opted out of the class) who, among other things, purchased Cardizem CD from Aventis during the period of July 1998, when Andrx first received FDA approval of its product, through June 1999, when Andrx commenced the sale of Cartia XT, its generic version of Cardizem CD. These settlements involve the 1997 Stipulation between Andrx and Aventis which, as then publicly announced, was intended to better ensure that Andrx would be able to market its generic version of Cardizem CD. Though Andrx continues to believe that the Stipulation was lawful, and in fact resulted in the marketing of its generic alternative sooner than it would have otherwise, Andrx determined that this settlement was preferable to the uncertainties and distractions inherent in continued litigation of this matter.

Although Andrx will continue to attempt to settle the remaining claims with respect to that Stipulation on reasonable terms, the Company is committed to vigorously litigating the case if it cannot be settled on that basis.

About Andrx

Andrx Corporation is a specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the formulation and commercialization of oral controlled-release generic and brand pharmaceuticals utilizing its proprietary drug delivery technologies. Andrx also markets and distributes pharmaceutical products manufactured by third parties. This release and additional information about Andrx Corporation are also available on the Internet at: http://www.andrx.com.

Forward-looking statements (statements which are not historical facts) in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, any statements contained in this report that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as "may," "will," "to," "expect," "plan," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "could," "would," "estimate," or "continue" or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable terminology is intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, the approval of the settlement described herein, the Company's ability to settle the remaining claims, and Andrx's results of operations. The Company is also subject to other risks as detailed from time-to-time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.