Release issued 17th December 2001

(San Antonio, Texas, USA and Lakewood, New Jersey, USA...) DPT Laboratories, Ltd., a premier, full-service developer and contract manufacturer of over-the-counter and prescription pharmaceuticals, announced today it has completed the acquisition of the assets of West Pharmaceutical Services Lakewood, Inc., and related companies, Paco Laboratories, Inc. and Charter Laboratories, Inc. The companies were subsidiaries of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST).

DPT will begin operating its newly acquired Lakewood, New Jersey, facilities as DPT Lakewood effective as of 5 p.m. today, Friday, November 30, 2001. This acquisition expands DPT's contract packaging and manufacturing capabilities by doubling the company's size in terms of employees and capacity, while significantly increasing revenues and adding a Northeast United States location to better serve DPT's customers. The Lakewood location consists of a pharmaceutical packaging facility and a semi-solid and liquid production facility both with additional capacity to meet future demands and growth projections.

"We are absolutely delighted to complete this acquisition and immediately begin offering our customers additional capacity and an expanded range of capabilities and services," said H. Paul Dorman, Chairman and CEO, DPT Laboratories, Ltd. "This acquisition strengthens DPT's leadership position in the prescription and OTC outsourcing market."

"In the past few weeks, we have received a wonderful welcome from the employees in Lakewood, the union and the community," Dorman added. "A Northeast location has been a special interest for us and a part of our strategic plan for a number of years. We were especially pleased when this particular business opportunity became available because of the employees' experience and talent in making high quality pharmaceutical and OTC products. We're ready to start the process that will ultimately add more jobs and technologies to the Lakewood business."

About DPT:

DPT, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is leading the industry in the development and manufacture of semi-solids including creams, lotions, ointments, gels, oral and topical solutions and suspensions. The company provides full-service outsourcing capabilities from formulation prototype development to worldwide distribution. DPT customers include most of the top Fortune 500 pharmaceutical and consumer products companies, as well as biotechnology and start-up companies.

For more information, see www.dptlabs.com.

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