Results From The Medicines Company's CACHET Trial Published in American Heart Journal.

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The Medicines Company (NASDAQ:MDCO) announced today that results from the Company's CACHET trial ("Comparison of Abciximab Complications with Hirulog for Ischemic Events") have been published in The American Heart Journal.

The trial, which the Company completed in 2000, and which the Company has previously reported, analyzed the use of ANGIOMAX(R) (bivalirudin) versus low dose heparin. The results of the study demonstrated that ANGIOMAX may be safely combined with abciximab, a commonly used intravenous platelet inhibitor, and may enable use of such platelet inhibitors selectively.

The authors of the study, led by Dr. A. Michael Lincoff of The Cleveland Clinic, concluded, "These data are the first randomized trial results to suggest that a provisional abciximab strategy, with bivalirudin as the underlying antithrombin agent, may be at least equivalent from an efficacy and safety standpoint to the practice of administering abciximab with heparin to all patients undergoing coronary intervention."

The paper reported data from 268 patients undergoing angioplasty with stenting who were randomized to treatment with either ANGIOMAX or heparin to prevent thrombotic complications of the procedure. The first 60 patients enrolled in the trial were used to establish the safety of the ANGIOMAX when administered with abciximab. The remaining 208 patients were randomized to heparin with abciximab (64 patients), or to ANGIOMAX (144 patients) - including 32 (24%) also given abciximab and 112 (76%) who received Angiomax alone. In the trial, patients randomized to ANGIOMAX (with or without abciximab) had fewer procedural complications than those randomized to heparin with abciximab. The incidence of death, myocardial infarction, revascularization or clinically important bleeding fell from 10.6% for patients on heparin with abciximab to 3.4% for patients on ANGIOMAX with planned or selective use of abciximab (p-value = 0.018 by Fishers exact test).

"We believe that the results of the CACHET trial provide a useful indicator for likely results of our ongoing 6,000-patient REPLACE-2 trial, which has now enrolled more than 4,000 patients," stated David Stack, President and CEO of The Medicines Company. "Dr Lincoff's data indicate that ANGIOMAX may be better than heparin for stented patients and also provide evidence that ANGIOMAX should enable selective use of GP2b3a inhibitors without compromising clinical outcomes. Importantly, this ANGIOMAX-based approach may well provide attractive economic advantages over heparin-based treatment."

ANGIOMAX (bivalirudin) is indicated for use as an anticoagulant in patients with unstable angina undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). ANGIOMAX is intended for use with aspirin and has been studied only in patients receiving concomitant aspirin. The most common (=10%) adverse events for ANGIOMAX were back pain (42%), pain (15%), nausea (15%), headache (12%), and hypotension (12%). ANGIOMAX is contraindicated in patients with active major bleeding or hypersensitivity to ANGIOMAX or its components. An unexplained fall in blood pressure or hematocrit, or any unexplained symptom, should lead to serious consideration of a hemorrhagic event and cessation of ANGIOMAX administration.

The Medicines Company was founded in 1996 to acquire, develop and commercialize selected pharmaceutical products in late stages of development and approved products. ANGIOMAX is approved in the United States for use as an intravenous anticoagulant in combination with aspirin in patients with unstable angina undergoing coronary balloon angioplasty, and is expected to be the cornerstone product of a planned acute-care hospital franchise. The Company is also developing another intravenous agent, clevidipine, for the short-term control of high blood pressure in the hospital setting. The Company's website can be found at www.themedicinescompany.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words, "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "intends," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations described in these forward-looking statements are set forth under the caption "Certain Factors that May Affect Future Results" in the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 25, 2002 and incorporated herein by reference. These risk factors include risks as to the commercial success of ANGIOMAX; how long the Company will be able to operate on its existing capital resources; whether the Company's products (other than ANGIOMAX for its approved indication) will advance in the clinical trials process, the timing of such clinical trials, whether the clinical trial results will warrant continued product development, whether and when, if at all, the Company's products will receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or equivalent regulatory agencies, and for which indications, and, if such products receive approval, whether they will be successfully marketed; whether the Company will be able to develop or acquire additional products; the Company's history of net losses; and the Company's dependence on third parties, including manufacturers, suppliers and collaborators. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.