AmeriCares Receives Significant Medical Donation from Aventis Pasteur

AmeriCares Foundation
Friday, 16 June 2000

8,000,000 doses of a tuberculosis test valued at $20,000,000

AmeriCares, the international and national disaster relief organization, is pleased to announce that it has received 8,000,000 doses of the tuberculosis test, Tubersol® Tuberculin Purified Protein Derivative (Mantoux), from Aventis Pasteur, one of the world leaders in vaccine manufacturing.

In addition to two health care facilities in the Los Angeles area, the TB tests will be consigned to indigenous healthcare providers in the countries of Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The critical state of the health care systems in each country requires significant ongoing support from AmeriCares.

Aventis Pasteur, a world leader in vaccines with the broadest range of products, produces more than one billion doses of vaccines every year to immunize 400 million people around the world. Aventis Pasteur, headquartered in Lyon, France is one of the pharmaceutical activities of Aventis SA, a leading global company in life sciences. For the past eight years Aventis' charitable donations have helped AmeriCares relief efforts around the world. This alliance has enabled AmeriCares to deliver over 50,000 pounds of life-saving vaccines valued over $40,000,000.

"AmeriCares is only able to achieve such remarkable results because of contributions like this from the corporate sector," says Robert Macauley. "AmeriCares is pleased to be able to deliver these tests, a powerful tool to protect against the spreading of disease."

"Tuberculosis does not recognize geographic boundaries," comments Dirk Sutherland, Public Health Director at Aventis Pasteur. "Its resurgence has coincided with the rise of HIV and, in our lifetime, a billion people will contract it, 200 million will become sick and many millions will die. TB is the largest cause of death in the world from an infectious disease. The burden will be born unduly by the world's poorest and most vulnerable people. With this donation, we are glad to be able to help our most needy people gain access to the Tubersol® tuberculin skin test."

Aventis S.A. (NYSE: AVE) is a world leader in life sciences. Focused on two core business areas-pharmaceuticals and agriculture – Aventis is dedicated to improving life through the discovery and development of innovative products in the fields of prescription drugs, vaccines, therapeutic proteins, crop production and protection, animal health and nutrition. With global corporate headquarters in Strasbourg, France, Aventis employs 95,000 people in 150 countries and recorded unaudited pro formal sales in 1999 of Euros 20.5 billion (US$ 20.7 billion).

Aventis Pasteur Inc. is located in Swiftwater, PA and is owned by Aventis Pasteur SA. Aventis Pasteur Inc. provides the broadest range of human vaccines and biologicals commercially available from any single U.S. vaccine company. It is a leading supplier of vaccines to protect against influenza, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Japanese encephalitis, yellow fever, Haemophilus influenzae type b disease, Meningitis, rabies and typhoid fever.

AmeriCares is a nonprofit disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization, which provides immediate response to emergency medical needs—and supports long-term healthcare programs—for people around the world, irrespective of race, creed or political persuasion. Since its inception in 1982, AmeriCares has delivered over $2.5 billion in aid to more than 130 nations worldwide.

For more information, or to contact AmeriCares Foundation, see their website at: www.americares.org