ARDANA RECEIVES SPECIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY AWARD FOR SECOND YEAR RUNNING IN DELOITTE & TOUCHE FAST 50 CELEBRATIONS

Edinburgh, UK, 29 October 2004…………..…….Ardana, the emerging pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving reproductive health, has received the Special Biotechnology Award from Deloitte & Touche Scotland for the second year running.

The Special Biotechnology Award is granted as part of Deloitte’s Regional Technology Fast 50 celebrations and in 2004 it is sponsored by the BioIndustry Association Scotland. It is awarded to companies which have demonstrated a high level of innovation in creating Intellectual Property with global potential, but which fall outside the criteria for Fast 50 qualification. Ardana was the sole recipient of the Award in 2003.

Maureen Lindsay, Ardana Chief Executive said ‘I am so pleased to win this award for the second year running. Over the last twelve months we have continued to build a strong, robust intellectual property portfolio to protect our discoveries, products and formulations. Ardana has exclusive rights to unencumbered intellectual property and patent applications derived from research at the Human Reproductive Sciences Unit in Edinburgh. The Unit is one of only four academic centres of excellence in reproductive biology in the world and it is the cornerstone of our competitive advantage in IP.’

‘This award concludes a busy and successful year for Ardana during which we have launched our first product, a testosterone replacement therapy for men with primary or secondary hypogonadism; acquired a second, which is in preparation for regulatory submission across Europe; and moved forward three products in four Phase II studies relating to prostate cancer , benign prostatic hyperplasia and endometriosis-related infertility . We are also working on two Phase I products with the potential to treat endometriosis , fibroids and infertility.’

For more information please contact:

Maureen Lindsay, Ardana:
+ 44 (0)131 226 8550
Nicki Brimicombe, NB Public Relation, (trade and technical media relations):
+ 44 (0)1883 732353
Julia Phillips, Financial Dynamics (corporate and financial media relations):
+44 (0)20 7831 3113

Notes for Editors
Ardana Limited is an emerging pharmaceutical company with a specialised focus on reproductive health. The company aims to become a leading source of clinical and commercial innovation in the $20 billion human reproductive health market, which is growing at 9% per annum. In addition to StriantTM SR, which Ardana recently launched in the UK as a treatment for men with primary or secondary hypogonadism, the company has marketing and manufacturing rights in Europe and EFTA for Invicorp®, a patented combination drug treatment for male erectile dysfunction. Ardana also has a rich development portfolio including the Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone (GnRH)-antagonist, Teverelix LA, in Phase II trials in patients with prostate cancer and benign prostate hyperplasia; Chronodyne® (terbutaline) which is in Phase I/II trials for endometriosis-related infertility (being developed in collaboration with Columbia Laboratories (NASDAQ: CBRX); and a reformulation of the GnRH analog 'Leuprorelin' which has completed Phase II trials for prostate cancer.

Ardana's therapeutic interests encompass androgen replacement, prostatic disease, infertility, sexual dysfunction and obstetrics. The company has exclusive rights to commercialise research by the Medical Research Council (MRC)'s Human Reproductive Sciences Unit (HRSU) in Edinburgh, Scotland, which has been at the forefront of this area of research for the last 30 years. The HRSU contributes a significant number of early stage development projects to the Ardana development portfolio, which complement later stage and marketed products. The MRC employs nearly 100 staff at the Unit, which currently receives total annual funding of £3.8 million.

Ardana has raised £43.4 million in four funding rounds. Ardana investors include DVC Deutsche Venture Capital, Albany Venture Managers Limited and 3i Bioscience Investment Trust, Merlin Biosciences Limited, MVM Limited (MVM), Techno Venture Management (TVM), ABN-AMRO Participates, 3i Group plc, ISIS Equity Partners plc, Scottish Widows Investment Partnership Ltd, Saffron Hill Ventures, Mitsubishi Corporation and Green Highlander, LLC. www.ardana.co.uk

The Technology Fast 50 Programme seeks out those companies that have shown impressive growth rates in the telecommunications, hardware, software and biotechnology markets over the last three financial years. All companies considered for the award must be headquartered in the Scotland region, must be technology-intensive or use unique technology in problem solving, or must devote a high percentage of effort to research and development. Deloitte & Touche introduced the Special Awards in order to recognize those companies which fall outside the criteria for Fast 50 qualification.

MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Unit (HRSU)
Research at the MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Unit is undertaken at a molecular, cellular and endocrine level to further understand the regulation of the human reproductive system. Its research encompasses mechanisms relevant to infertility, menstrual cycle abnormalities and disorders of pregnancy and foetal development. Immunological, hormonal and pharmacological approaches for the reversible regulation of human fertility are also under investigation. The Unit and the University of Edinburgh Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology combine to form the Centre for Reproductive Biology (CRB), a collaborative institution within the WHO Human Reproduction Programme and the Rockefeller Foundation Contraception 21 Initiative.

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