Andrx Settles Federal Trade Commission Dispute Over Cardizem CD Stipulation.

Business Editors

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 2, 2001

ANDRX CORPORATION - Andrx Group (Nasdaq:ADRX) announced today that the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") has issued for public comment a proposed Agreement Containing Consent Order ("Consent Agreement") resolving the FTC's proceedings concerning Andrx' 1997 Stipulation and Agreement with Aventis (formerly Hoechst Marion Roussel, Inc. ("HMR")). Under the Consent Agreement, "which is for settlement purposes only," Andrx denies any allegation of wrongdoing and is not subject to any fines, penalities, or other monetary obligation. Instead, Andrx would agree to refrain from taking certain future actions described in a consent decree and order that accompanies the Consent Agreement.

When the FTC initiated its administrative complaint against Andrx and HMR in March 2000, it did so, it said, in order to "develop...a full factual record to help shape further the appropriate parameters of permissable conduct" given the various conflicting policies balanced by the Hatch-Waxman Act. In its Analysis to Aid Public Comment ("Analysis") issued by the FTC together with the Consent Agreement, the FTC said that its proposed resolution with Andrx and HMR "strikes an appropriate balance, on a prospective basis, between the legitimate interests of (Andrx and HMR) and the Commission's concerns with the possible competitive effects of agreements between" New Drug Application ("NDA") holders and ANDA first filers. The Analysis explains that, "by not imposing any broad prohibitions on (Andrx' and HMR's) ability to compete, the Order maintains HMR's incentive to develop and sell new drug products and Andrx' incentive to develop and sell generic products that do not infringe valid intellectual property rights held by others" and "preserves Andrx' ability to decide for itself whether to market a product in the face of a claim of patent infringement." Following the FTC's multi-year factual investigation and legal analysis of the Stipulation, the Analysis states that "based on the FTC's investigation, it does not appear that there was any delay in the entry into the market of a generic version of Cardizem(R) CD by Andrx or any potential manufacturer, or that the conduct or agreement at issue delayed consumer access to a generic version of Cardizem(R) CD."

Andrx President, Elliot F. Hahn, Ph.D., stated: "Andrx has steadfastly maintained that the Stipulation was procompetitive and that it allowed us to market Cartia XT(R), Andrx' bioequivalent version of Cardizem(R) CD, well before it could have absent the Stipulation. We are obviously delighted with the resolution of the FTC matter and look forward to continuing to cooperate with that agency to police abuses of Hatch-Waxman that negatively affect consumers."

Full texts of the settlement are available on the Andrx (www.andrx.com) and FTC (www.FTC.gov) web sites. In summary, the proposed consent decree would prohibit Andrx, when it is the first filed ANDA applicant, from (a) entering into future agreements with NDA holders that include provisions prohibiting Andrx from relinquishing its Hatch-Waxman right of exclusivity or from selling the product, unless the product is or would be the subject of a patent infringement claim, or (b) from entering into certain types of stand-still arrangements during litigation without court or FTC approval. Andrx believes that the settlement, which will remain in place for 10 years, will not affect any stated or planned future conduct by Andrx.

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," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "could," "would," "estimate," or "continue" or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties. Andrx Group is a class of common stock of Andrx Corporation, therefore Andrx Corporation shareholders are subject to the risks and uncertainties described in Andrx Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Andrx Corporation's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999.