Recordati: A new antidepressant drug is being launched on the Italian market

Milan, 23 October 2003

Recordati announced the introduction into the Italian market of Entact® (escitalopram), a new drug indicated for the treatment of depression and panic disorder.

Escitalopram belongs to the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI's) class of antidepressants. This drug is highly specific and selective for the treatment of depression and has a remarkably fast onset of action. Various clinical studies recently presented at important international congresses (1) have shown the powerful efficacy, the early onset of action, the excellent tolerability and ease of use of escitalopram.

Recordati obtained the license to escitalopram in 2002 from the Danish pharmaceutical company Lundbeck. This drug has been very successful in the U.S. market and is also available in a number of European countries.

The Italian market for antidepressant drugs continues to grow year on year and reached € 320 million in 2002.

"Thanks to the launch of Entact® an efficacious therapy for the pharmacological treatment of depression and panic disorder, conditions which affect to some degree around 30% of the population, will be available to Italian physicians and patients" declared Giovanni Recordati, Chairman and CEO. "The benefits of Entact®, as supported by clinical studies, will contribute to mitigate the negative impact this illness has on patients and the community".

Recordati, established in 1926, is a European pharmaceutical group, listed on the Italian Stock Exchange (Reuters RECI.MI, Bloomberg REC IM, ISIN IT 0003074447), dedicated to the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical chemicals, with headquarters in Milan, Italy and operating subsidiaries in France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.

(1) American Psychiatric Association 156th Annual Meeting, San Francisco - May 2003 European Congress of Neuropsychopharmacology, Prague - Sept. 2003