CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals Announces Availability of Periostat in United Kingdom.

Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

NEWTOWN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)

Oct. 5, 2000 - CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: CGPI) today announced that Periostat(R) (doxycycline hyclate 20mg capsules) is now available for prescription in the United Kingdom.

Periostat is the first and only prescription pharmaceutical for the adjunctive treatment of adult periodontitis that acts by suppressing the enzymes that destroy the periodontal support tissues. Periostat will be marketed in the United Kingdom by CollaGenex International Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

There are approximately 25,000 registered dental practitioners in the UK, serving a population in excess of 58 million people, with approximately 25% of the adult population believed to suffer from periodontitis in varying degrees of severity. CollaGenex International is marketing Periostat first to the UK periodontal community before extending its marketing activities to a wider dental professional audience.

"The availability of Periostat for prescription by the UK dental community represents the first opportunity outside of the United States for patients suffering from adult periodontitis to enjoy the benefits of adjunctive enzyme suppression therapy," said Dr. Brian M. Gallagher, chairman, president and chief executive officer of CollaGenex. "Since launch in 1998, over 700,000 prescriptions for Periostat written by US dental professionals have been filled by patients, and the drug has undoubtedly made a significant contribution to the treatment of this extremely common and potentially debilitating disorder."

Periostat is designed to suppress the activity of enzymes that are responsible for breaking down the connective tissues that hold the teeth in place. It is available as a capsule and prescribed by dentists for 3 to 12 months as an adjunct to the common deep dental cleaning procedure known as scaling and root planing.

In extensive clinical trials Periostat has been shown to reduce probing pocket depths and improve clinical attachment levels compared with scaling and root planing alone. In these trials, adverse events to Periostat were similar to those of a placebo (sugar pill). Periostat is contraindicated in children up to 12 years of age, in patients with a known hypersensitivity to tetracyclines and during pregnancy and for nursing mothers.

CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on providing innovative medical therapies to the dental market. The company's lead product, Periostat, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in September 1998 and by the UK Medicines Control Agency in February 2000. It is the first and only prescription pharmaceutical product to treat periodontal disease by suppressing the enzymes that destroy the periodontal support tissues.

Periostat is marketed to the dental community in the United States by CollaGenex through a professional pharmaceutical sales force. Currently, the company's salesforce is also marketing VIOXX(R), a Merck & Co. drug that the company promotes for the treatment and relief of acute dental pain and Denavir(R), a SmithKline Beecham product for the treatment of cold sores.

Research has shown that the enzyme suppressing technology underlying Periostat may also be applicable to other diseases involving destruction of the body's connective tissues, including cancer metastases (Metastat(R)) and a broad range of inflammatory diseases. CollaGenex is developing a series of novel, proprietary compounds known as IMPACS(R) (Inhibitors of Multiple Proteases and Cytokines) to address these applications. The company intends to pursue further research and development of this technology primarily through partnerships with third parties.

For additional information on CollaGenex, please visit the company's website at www.collagenex.com, which is not part of this press release.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which may affect the company's business and prospects. The company's business of selling, marketing and developing pharmaceutical products is subject to a number of significant risks, including marketing plans; risks inherent in research and development activities; risks associated with conducting business in a highly regulated environment and uncertainty relating to clinical trials of products under development, all as discussed in the company's periodic filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Periostat(R), Metastat(R)and IMPACS(R)are trademarks of CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CollaGenex(R)and Periostat(R)are trademarks of CollaGenex International Limited. VIOXX(R)is a trademark of Merck & Co., Inc. Denavir(R)is a trademark of SmithKline Beecham, Inc.