Release issued 22nd April 2008

April 22, 2008, Waltham, Mass. Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that a therapy that carries a lower risk of weight gain than AstraZeneca's Seroquel and has both antimanic and antidepressant effects would earn a 30 percent patient share in the treatment of bipolar disorder, according to surveyed psychiatrists.

The new report entitled Bipolar Disorder: Although Bipolar Mania Is a Crowded Market, Physicians Continue to Demand Better Treatment finds that surveyed psychiatrists indicate that they would prescribe AstraZeneca's Seroquel XR to 20 percent of their bipolar disorder patients, following its approval for the indication in 2009. As a result, Seroquel XR is forecasted to earn a 16 percent patient share in the U.S. bipolar disorder market in 2016.

The report also finds that Seroquel XR will earn gold-standard status for treatment of bipolar disorder in 2011 as interviewed psychiatrists indicate that Seroquel XR's delivery profile-once-daily dosing-will be marginally superior to that of Seroquel immediate-release. Although surveyed psychiatrists indicated that lithium and Eli Lilly's Zyprexa have advantages in efficacy, lithium and Zyprexa have disadvantages in safety, tolerability and/or delivery when compared to Seroquel. 

"Interviewed psychiatrists report that Seroquel can sometimes require twice-daily dosing for sustained efficacy," said Kate Hohenberg, director at Decision Resources. "As a result, Seroquel XR narrowly edges out its parent compound to become the new gold standard because of its incremental advantage in delivery."

About the Report
Bipolar Disorder: Although Bipolar Mania Is a Crowded Market, Physicians Continue to Demand Better Treatment is a DecisionBase 2008 report from Decision Resources. DecisionBase 2008 combines market forecasts with clinical and commercial end points to assess market share projections in 35 indications. These outputs are driven by quantitative and qualitative primary research. DecisionBase 2008 provides detailed market share, patient share, and price-per-day projections for emerging drugs in development. The market share projections are based on prescriber surveys that compare physicians' expectations of a potential target product profile with an emerging product profile of the leading drugs in development.

The report can be purchased by contacting Decision Resources. Members of the media may request an interview with an analyst.

About Decision Resources
Decision Resources, Inc. (www.decisionresources.com ) is a world leader in research publications, advisory services, and consulting designed to help clients shape strategy, allocate resources, and master their chosen markets. Decision Resources is a Decision Resources, Inc. company.

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