Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System Receives $50,000 Through the

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Phil Mickelson was named this week's CRESTOR(R) (rosuvastatin calcium) Charity Challenge winner for his first-place standing entering the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The CRESTOR(R) Charity Challenge is a season-long competition that recognizes and rewards the tournament leader entering the final round at 35 PGA TOUR events. Through the program, now in its second year, AstraZeneca will donate $3.5 million a year to designated health and PGA TOUR charities. At each of the selected tournaments, a $100,000 contribution will be made, supporting the PGA TOUR's "Drive to a Billion" campaign, which celebrates the spirit of giving that has helped the TOUR and its tournaments approach the milestone of $1 billion dollars in charitable giving.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050212/NYSA002 )

For Mickelson's performance, CRESTOR, an AstraZeneca pharmaceutical product, and the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, will donate $50,000 to the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System, and $50,000 to the health care charity of Mickelson's choice. CRESTOR(R) Charity Challenge winners, and the tournament's designated charity, will be recognized during the network or cable telecast of each tournament.

"Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System is deeply grateful to receive this generous donation. Having been the Regional Heart Program for the entire central coast area for the past 18 years, we continue to be dedicated to providing the most technologically advanced healthcare available," said Sam Downing, President/CEO of Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System. "This generosity will further our ability to provide local residents with the quality healthcare they have come to expect from our Healthcare System."

Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System (http://www.svmh.com/ ) is an integrated network of health care programs, services and facilities situated near historic Old Town Salinas. At the core of the system is a 266-bed acute care hospital with several distinct specializations and programs. Specialized facilities and programs include the Regional Heart Program, the Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Sleep Disorders Center, Emergency Services and a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). A 20-bed Level III NICU to care for the region's most critically ill infants, and an expanded Emergency Department to accommodate the area's growing population are both underway.

The CRESTOR(R) Charity Challenge is the centerpiece of a multi-year PGA TOUR partnership with AstraZeneca . Last year, AstraZeneca donated $2.7 million through the program. Highlights from the 2004 CRESTOR(R) Charity Challenge included:

* More than 50 charities benefited from the program. * Vijay Singh topped more than one money list in 2004, leading all players with five CRESTOR(R) Charity Challenge wins. * Tom Lehman was the only player to win three straight CRESTOR(R) Charity Challenges. * Adam Scott, who won twice, was the only other multiple winner. * 17 CRESTOR(R) Charity Challenge winners went on to victory in their respective tournaments.

"After just one year, the CRESTOR(R) Charity Challenge has become a visible extension of the PGA TOUR's mission of giving back in local communities throughout America," said Tony Zook, senior vice president, commercial operations, AstraZeneca U.S. "Through AstraZeneca's support, the CRESTOR(R) Charity Challenge will play a major part in the PGA TOUR's "Drive to a Billion" charitable program."

Fans can log on to http://www.crestor.pgatour.com/ to read about past CRESTOR(R) Charity Challenge winners and learn more about CRESTOR. CRESTOR is the presenting sponsor of TOUR Fantasy Golf at pgatour.com/fantasy and the PGA TOUR's year-end charity special that will air in December.

About CRESTOR(R) (rosuvastatin calcium)

CRESTOR(R) (rosuvastatin calcium) is a once-daily prescription medication for use as an adjunct to diet in the treatment of various lipid disorders including primary hypercholesterolemia, mixed dyslipidemia and isolated hypertriglyceridemia.

CRESTOR is generally well tolerated. Adverse reactions have usually been mild and transient. In clinical trials of 10,275 patients, the most commonly reported treatment-related adverse events were myalgia, constipation, asthenia, abdominal pain and nausea.

CRESTOR is contraindicated in patients with active liver disease or unexplained persistent elevations of serum transaminases and in women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, and in nursing mothers. Rare cases of rhabdomyolysis with acute renal failure secondary to myoglobinuria have been reported with CRESTOR and with other drugs in this class. CRESTOR should be prescribed with caution in patients with predisposing factors for myopathy, such as renal impairment. Patients should be advised to promptly report unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness, particularly if accompanied by malaise or fever. It is recommended that liver function tests be performed before and at 12 weeks following both the initiation of therapy and any elevation of dose, and periodically (e.g., semiannually) thereafter. Full prescribing and product information for CRESTOR is available by calling the AstraZeneca Information Center at 1-800-236-9933 or by visiting http://www.crestor.com/ .

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 top five pharmaceutical companies in the world with healthcare sales of over $18.8 billion and leading positions in sales of cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, oncology, neuroscience and respiratory products. In the United States, AstraZeneca is an $8.7 billion healthcare business with more than 11,000 employees. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global and European) as well as the FTSE4Good Index.