AstraZeneca Annual Report and Form 20-F Information 2008

Notes to the Financial Statements (Company)

7 Commitments & contingent liabilities

Exanta (ximelagatran)

As previously disclosed, four putative and essentially similar securities class actions were filed in the US against AstraZeneca PLC, Håkan Mogren (who currently serves as a Director of AstraZeneca PLC), Sir Tom McKillop, Jonathan Symonds and Percy Barnevik (who are former Directors of AstraZeneca PLC) between January and March 2005. These actions were subsequently consolidated into a single action in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Consolidated Amended Complaint alleged that the defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding Exanta clinical trials and the status of the Exanta new drug application in the US. The plaintiffs purport to assert claims on behalf of purchasers of AstraZeneca publicly traded securities during the period April 2003 to September 2004 under sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and SEC Rule 10b-5.

In an opinion dated 3 June 2008, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the case in its entirety by granting the motions to dismiss of AstraZeneca PLC and the individual defendants. Plaintiffs are currently appealing this decision to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, except for the ruling regarding two of the four individual defendants. AstraZeneca filed its brief in response to Plaintiff’s appeal on 14 October 2008.

AstraZeneca PLC will continue to vigorously defend itself in this matter.

Informal US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) inquiry

In October 2006, AstraZeneca received from the SEC a letter requesting documents related to its business activities in Italy, Croatia, Russia and Slovakia for the period 1 October 2003 to the present. The SEC’s request generally seeks documents concerning any payments to doctors or government officials and related internal accounting controls. The request also seeks policies, correspondence, audits and other documents concerning compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as well as any allegations or communications with prosecutors’ offices relating to corruption or bribery of doctors or government officials. AstraZeneca has produced documents in response to this request. It is not currently possible to predict the outcome of this inquiry.

Anti-trust

In January 2008 AstraZeneca, together with several other companies, was the subject of an unannounced inspection simultaneous with the launch by the EU Commission (Commission) of a Sectoral Inquiry (Inquiry) into the pharmaceutical industry. The Inquiry relates to the introduction of innovative and generic medicines and covers commercial and other practices, including the use of patents. On 28 November 2008 the Commission published its preliminary report. The report does not identify wrongdoing by any individual companies but is stated to provide a factual basis for further consideration. The Commission has stated that it will commence individual investigations where there are indications that competition rules have been breached. The preliminary report focuses on a number of issues relating to competition in the EU, referring to strategies which the Commission believes pharmaceutical companies use to block or delay generic entry. Such strategies include: patent filings and enforcement; patent settlement agreements and other agreements; interventions before national regulatory authorities; and life-cycle management strategies.

A final report is expected in Spring 2009. AstraZeneca has been co-operating fully with the Commission and participating in European Federation for Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations activities.