His Majesty the King of Spain inaugurates Almirall's new Research and Development centre in Sant Feliu de Llobregat (Barcelona)

• The act will be attended by the Right Honourable Pasqual Maragall, President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, and will be presided over by Dr Gallardo, Chairman and CEO of Almirall

• This centre houses 400 professionals and its objective is to discover and develop innovative drugs that meet the therapeutic needs of the 21^st century

Barcelona, 23^rd May 2006.- At 17:00 today, His Majesty the King of Spain inaugurates the new Research and Development (R&D) centre of the pharmaceutical company Almirall, in Sant Feliu de Llobregat (Barcelona). The act will be attended bythe Right Honourable Pasqual Maragall, President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, as well as political representatives and noteworthy figures in the field of research in Spain, and will be presided by Dr Gallardo, Chairman and CEO of Almirall.

During the act, His Majesty will visit Almirall’s new R&D centre. The King will find out at firsthand about the latest advances in the field of pharmaceutical research. According to Dr Gallardo: “through these new facilities, Almirall potentiates its R&Dto meet the health needs of the 21^st century”. Dr Gallardo continues: “the Sant Feliu centre represents the future projection of Almirall’s research tradition built up over more than 40 years”.

This centre (which houses 400 professionals) has facilities covering more than 22,000 m², is equipped with the most advanced technology, the latest generation of automated and robotic equipment, to accelerate the drug discovery process. Thus, this R&D centre becomes a reference point for biomedical research in Spain.

The main research projects undertaken in this centre will focus on the search for new molecules for the treatment of diseases where inflammation is a critical component, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. These are the core of Almirall’s therapeutic focus.

Almirall, a leading company committed to the health of society

Almirall, a consolidated pharmaceutical company, researches, develops and commercialises both, drugs from its own R&D and licensed drugs with the purpose of improving people’s health and quality of life.

The R&D investment planned by Almirall for the next five years is €750 million, which represents the largest investment in this area by a Spanish pharmaceutical company.

Almirall, with Headquarters in Barcelona (Spain), has a team of 3,200 staff members, of which 500 belong to the R&D area. It currently has a presence in around one hundred countries through its own drugs and licenses from companies of recognised prestige. The company is strengthening its direct presence in Europe and Latin America through its affiliates.

For further information:

Ketchum/SEIS

Carla Cudós / Victoria Hernández

carla.cudos@ketchum.com

victoria.hernandez@ketchum.com

Tel.: 34 91 788 32 00.- Fax: 34 91 788 32 99