TAP APPOINTS NEW EXECUTIVE TO LEAD COMPANY'S DRUG RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

LAKE FOREST, Ill., April 21, 2006 – TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. today announced the appointment of Nancy Joseph-Ridge, M.D. as vice president of research and development (R&D), effective immediately. Joseph-Ridge will be succeeding Xavier Frapaise, M.D., who led TAP's R&D group since he joined the company in 2002.

Joseph-Ridge, 47, has been with TAP since 2002 and has most recently held the position of therapeutic area head of internal medicine and rheumatology and department head for publications, medical writing and clinical trial registries.

"I am very proud that Dr. Joseph-Ridge will be assuming our company's highest scientific post," said Alan MacKenzie, president of TAP. "In addition to being a well-known and highly revered physician and researcher, she has proven herself to be a strong leader with an unwavering commitment to scientific excellence."

Prior to joining TAP, Dr. Joseph-Ridge worked for the former Searle (which later became part of Pfizer) in drug safety and clinical development and was involved in the development of several drugs in the cardiovascular and arthritis therapeutic areas.

Joseph-Ridge built her extensive knowledge of internal medicine, rheumatology and clinical trial work in clinical and academic roles at two world-class academic medical centers in Chicago, Ill. – Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center and the University of Chicago Hospitals. After receiving her M.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1985, Joseph-Ridge completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at Rush, ultimately becoming chief resident. She subsequently joined the staff of the University of Chicago Hospitals to complete a fellowship in rheumatology.

From 1991 through 1995, she worked at Rush as clinical director of the Clinical Research Unit and the Lyme Arthritis Unit, as well as serving as assistant professor of medicine and assistant chairman of the Department of Medicine at Rush’s medical school. In 1995, she then returned to the University of Chicago to serve as an assistant professor of medicine, director of the Lupus Clinic and medical director of the clinical trials unit.

About TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc.

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