AZN AstraZeneca PLC

WILMINGTON, Del., Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) has announced the appointment of Kenneth L. Murtha as Regional Supply VP- The Americas, effective January 1, 2008. In his new expanded role, Murtha will oversee distribution in Latin America and supply sites in Argentina, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Mexico in addition to his North American responsibilities. As one of three Regional Supply VPs, Murtha will serve on AstraZeneca's worldwide Operations leadership team that is driving the Operations strategy to enable a step change in productivity and optimize its end-to-end supply chain. David Smith, EVP of Global Operations comments, "There is great opportunity for our global supply chain to drive additional value for patients and contribute to future top-line growth." He added, "Ken's background and expertise make him the ideal person to deliver on AstraZeneca's promise to utilize our supply chain as a competitive lever connecting product packaging in a much more meaningful way with the patient." "AstraZeneca is widely recognized for its leadership and innovation in providing superior customer service. Finding new, effective ways to deliver value today will be used to create new medicines for patients tomorrow," explained Murtha. Murtha most recently held the position of Vice President, Business Operations for the U.S. and served as a member of AstraZeneca's U.S. leadership team. He has worked for the company since 1982, progressing into ever-expanding roles and responsibilities within the Operations Group. He obtained a bachelor's degree in pharmacy from the University of Pittsburgh in 1982 and is a licensed pharmacist in Pennsylvania. He is a board member of the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, the International Leadership Forum for the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE), Red Cross of Delmarva and Delaware State Chamber of Commerce. About AstraZeneca AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of $26.47 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infection products. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index. In the United States, AstraZeneca is a $12.44 billion healthcare business with more than 12,000 employees. For nearly three decades, AstraZeneca has offered drug assistance programs side by side with its medicines, and over the past five years, has provided over $3 billion in savings to more than 1 million patients throughout the US and Puerto Rico. AstraZeneca has been named one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" by Working Mother magazine and is the only large pharmaceutical company named to FORTUNE magazine's 2007 list of "100 Best Companies to Work For." In 2006, for the fifth consecutive year, Science magazine named AstraZeneca a "Top Employer" on its ranking of the world's most respected biopharmaceutical employers. For more information about AstraZeneca, please visit: http://www.astrazeneca-us.com/ DATASOURCE: AstraZeneca CONTACT: Kate Klemas of AstraZeneca, +1-302-885-4642, Web site: http://www.astrazeneca-us.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/985887.html

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