TAP NAMES L. STEPHAN VINCZE ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE OFFICER

LAKE FOREST, Ill., Dec. 6, 2001 - TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. today announced that L. Stephan Vincze has been named TAP's ethics and compliance officer. A national authority on health care compliance, Vincze will oversee and refine TAP's established compliance program.

"Strengthening our compliance and integrity processes continues to be a top priority for TAP," said Thomas Watkins, president of TAP. "Our goal is to be a leader in this area, and Steve Vincze possesses the knowledge and expertise to guide us there."

Reporting to Watkins, Vincze will be responsible for overseeing the company's adherence to various policies and guidelines as well as implementing and refining TAP's Code of Conduct and other compliance training as established by Vincze's predecessor. In addition, Vincze will administer TAP's compliance with the Corporate Integrity Agreement signed with the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in September as part of TAP's settlement with the U.S. Attorney's office.

A native of Boston, Vincze is a health care compliance professional with more than a dozen years of compliance experience in both the public and private sectors. A former Counsel to the Committee on Government Reform, an oversight committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, Vincze most recently served as president and chief executive officer of Vincze & Frazer, an award-winning national health care compliance consulting firm located in Montgomery, Alabama, where he directed operations and provided counsel for numerous health care organizations across the country.

Vincze previously served as the first compliance officer for the largest health care billing and management firm in the country. He also advised and assisted the OIG of the DHHS in the drafting of compliance guidance for the medical billing industry that was issued nationwide in November 1997.

Vincze serves on the Board of Directors of the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) and was appointed by the HCCA Board in September 2001 to serve as National Co-Chairman of the Coalition to Study Health Care Compliance Program Effectiveness. He has published numerous health care compliance articles in books, magazines and journals, including Journal of Health Care Compliance and Journal of the American Health Information Management Association. These articles provide guidance for companies and organizations on a range of topics including health care entitlements, patient rights and the management of compliance programs for international health care organizations.

Vincze holds law degrees from Georgetown University Law Center and Southern Methodist University School of Law and holds a bachelor's degree from Columbia University. Vincze also received the Defense Meritorious Service Medal for exemplary service in the Office of the Secretary of Defense during his active duty military service as a U.S. Marine Corps officer while stationed at the Pentagon during the Persian Gulf War.

TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc., located in Lake Forest, Ill., is a joint venture between Abbott Laboratories, headquartered in Abbott Park, Ill., and Takeda Chemical Industries, Ltd. of Osaka, Japan. TAP currently markets Lupron Depot® (leuprolide acetate for depot suspension) and PREVACID® (lansoprazole). For more information about TAP and its products, visit the company's web site at www.tap.com.