FDA approval of Abbott's Simcor marks start of co-promotion with Solvay

March 12, 2008-Solvay welcomes the recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to market SIMCOR® (Niaspan®/simvastatin), a fixed-dose combination lipid therapy developed by Abbott, in the United States, which has resulted in a milestone payment of USD 100 million from Solvay to Abbott. This marks the start of planned co-promotion efforts. Solvay Pharmaceuticals was granted co-promotion rights in the United States for SIMCOR® as a result of an agreement with Abbott announced on October 22, 2007.

Further to the USD 100 million capital investment, Solvay Pharmaceuticals will start contributing to the commercial expenses of SIMCOR® in the first quarter of 2008.“The treatment of cardiometabolic diseases is one of Solvay Pharmaceuticals’ strategic therapeutic areas,” said Laurence Downey, M.D., president and CEO, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. “We are excited about the collaboration on SIMCOR®, which extends Solvay’s presence in the United States and builds on a long-standing partnership with Abbott on TriCor®. Further developments include SLV348/ABT 335, the next-generation fenofibrate, for which Abbott submitted a New Drug Application to the FDA in the 4th quarter of 2007.”SIMCOR® combines two well-established and leading medications, Niaspan and simvastatin, to target multiple lipid parameters - LDL "bad" cholesterol and HDL "good" cholesterol – in a single pill.