BUSINESS WEEK INVESTIGATION: ABUSE OF POWER THE ASTONISHING TALE OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT ASTRA USA.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 1996-- On April 29, as BUSINESS WEEK was about to publish the results of a six-month investigation into allegations of rampant sexual harassment at Astra USA, President Lars Bildman was abruptly relieved of his responsibilities by Astra's parent, giant Swedish drug-maker Astra AB. The parent company appointed one of its most senior executives, Jan Larsson, to replace Bildman, and hired outside counsel to perform a thorough probe. Senior Astra executives acknowledge that BUSINESS WEEK's investigation sparked the abrupt action. BUSINESS WEEK's story appears in the magazine's May 13 issue, out today.

BUSINESS WEEK's investigation, which involved interviews with more than 70 former and current employees, uncovered a disturbing pattern of complaints during much of Bildman's 15-year tenure as CEO of Astra USA. BUSINESS WEEK found a dozen cases of women who claimed that they were either fondled or solicited for sexual favors by Bildman or other executives. Many women described evenings in which they were expected to escort senior executives to bars and dancing clubs. Others received frequent invitations to join the often inebriated managers in their hotel suites or more intimate late-night gatherings.

Until recently, company parties were raucous affairs at which heavy drinking and dancing were virtually mandated. One former Astra sales rep who obtained an out-of-court settlement of harassment charges in 1994, says, "If (guys) felt like grabbing a woman by the boob or by the ass, it was O.K." Even many male employees were appalled. "I've never seen anything as blatant and untoward," says one Astra rep who quit in 1992, because he disliked the culture. Adds another respected district sales manager who quit last Sept- ember in disgust: "If ever there was a company where sexual harass- ment was rampant, this is it."

Where were the legal deterrents? Former employees say that, in many cases where women with evidence of harassment or retaliation threatened suits, Astra settled to avoid litigation. It has paid cash sums ranging from $20,000 to about $100,000 to five women that BUSINESS WEEK knows of. For executives charged with harassment, there was no real penalty. Worse, they appear to have used shareholder funds to protect themselves. Astra denies that it paid off women in exchange for their silence.

On May 1, as the article was going to press, Bildman categorically denied the allegations in a written statement. An attorney for Bildman claimed his client hadn't had enough time to respond.

CONTACT: Christine Summerson [phone]