WASHINGTON, Sep 17, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ --

In testimony today before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Wayne Pisano, executive vice president of Aventis Pasteur North America, outlined a vaccine supply agenda to be advanced by industry and government to ensure that vaccine shortages become a thing of the past.

"We are now emerging from an 18-month period in which there have been a number of vaccine shortages," said Pisano. "In the face of numerous factors, the fact that the private sector can and has responded to supply issues demonstrates its strength and vitality. However, the underlying causes for the shortages remain and, along with the recent significant increase in the number of lawsuits, need to be addressed through a cooperative effort between government and industry."

"Each of the shortages that occurred, as well as the real risk to supply arising from recent litigation, has an identifiable solution that can be achieved through a rational vaccine agenda that incorporates appropriate legislation and policy," said Pisano. Four key points of this agenda include:

     1) Create a strategic vaccine reserve through a long-term commitment to
        stockpiles.  This would effectively create a source that would
        stabilize supply in the event of temporary shortages
     2) Manufacturers should provide adequate advance notice should they
        choose to discontinue producing a specific vaccine.  Earlier this
        summer, Aventis Pasteur made a public pledge to do so.
     3) Strengthen the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.  This program
        provides an efficient mechanism for providing financial assistance to
        families, but could be made more family-friendly.  In addition,
        recent, new strategies have emerged from injury claimants intended to
        circumvent the Program.  The liability issue dwarfs all others as a
        threat to the stability of the vaccine supply.
     4) Increase funding for vaccine testing research at the FDA. The FDA must
        have the resources to sustain state-of-the-art understanding of
        vaccine testing.

Pisano also addressed non-legislative means that would help strengthen the vaccine supply. "One of the key roles that the CDC can offer is to act as a confidential facilitator of critical supply information. In this way, the agency could influence other manufacturers to fill any gap in the event of an imminent shortage."

"We have an industry that has been remarkably successful and that wants to partner with government and all elements of our nation's immunization enterprises to achieve even greater success," Pisano said.

In the last few months, Aventis Pasteur announced the return to normal supplies of tetanus and DTaP vaccines. The company began shipping influenza vaccine in September and anticipates supplying the balance in October and November as originally planned.

Aventis: A World Leader in Pharmaceuticals

Aventis Pasteur Inc. is located in Swiftwater, PA, and is a subsidiary of 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.

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.

Aventis (NYSE: AVE) is dedicated to improving life by treating and preventing human disease through the discovery and development of innovative pharmaceutical products. Aventis focuses on prescription drugs for important therapeutic areas such as oncology, cardiology, diabetes and respiratory disorders as well as on human vaccines. In 2001, Aventis generated sales of euro 17.7 billion ($15.5 billion), invested approximately euro 3 billion ($2.6 billion) in research and development and employed approximately 75,000 people in its core business. Aventis corporate headquarters are in Strasbourg, France. For more information, please visit: http://www.aventis.com .

Statements in this news release other than historical information are forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially depending on such factors as the availability of resources, the timing and effects of regulatory actions, the strength of competition, the outcome of litigation and the effectiveness of patent protection. Additional information regarding risks and uncertainties is set forth in the current Annual Report on Form 20-F of Aventis on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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SOURCE Aventis Pasteur Inc.

Len Lavenda of Aventis Pasteur, +1-570-839-4446; or Sherri
Michelstein of Cooney Waters Group, +1-212-886-2200, for Aventis Pasteur

http://www.aventis.com

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