Dow Expands Presence in Pharmaceutical Market, Uniting Existing Offers Under Dowpharma Portfolio
Strategic Move Reflects Shift Toward Single Source Contract Manufacturer for Established and Emerging Pharma Customers

Midland, MI - April 08, 2004

Dow is expanding its presence in the pharmaceutical market, uniting several of its existing offerings under the DowpharmaSM portfolio. Reflecting the industry's need for a single source contract manufacturer of both pharma and biopharma technologies, Dowpharma now encompasses a significantly broader range of services enabling more rapid and seamless development and production.

The new Dowpharma portfolio includes a full spectrum of development and manufacturing services for the production of synthetic pharmaceutical intermediates and active ingredients. The portfolio includes an extensive chiral technology offering, nucleic acid medicines manufacturing, biopharmaceutical contract development and production by microbial and plant-based systems, radiopharmaceutical development, and drug delivery including solubilization services.

"Customers have told us they need a CMO with a full range of skills as well as demonstrated performance in project execution, regulatory compliance, and technical expertise to help their drugs progress to commercialization, and we can provide this," states Nick Hyde, business director, Dowpharma.

The new strategic mix reflects Dow's commitment to provide a wide array of capabilities and expertise, delivered seamlessly, and tailored to each customer's needs. "By listening carefully, and through meaningful discussion, we will deliver solutions to optimize the products and processes of both large and small pharmaceutical companies as well as emerging companies that have everything riding on a single molecule," says Hyde.

Today's announcement follows a series of strategic moves the company has made since it first emerged as a major contract manufacturing organiztion (CMO) in the pharmaceutical services market just over two years ago. Since then, the business has leveraged its broad expertise to develop technology for drug solubilization, biotargeted radiopharmaceuticals, transgenic plant systems, microbial expression and cGMP oligonucleotides.

Key technology areas for the expanded Dowpharma are described below. Additional information is available at www.Dowpharma.com.

Chiral Products. Route selection and process development for producing chiral compounds. Extensive portfolio of chiral capabilities gives customers access to an unbiased, systematic approach to optimal route selection for new or existing products.

Nucleic Acid Medicines. New commercial-scale cGMP nucleic acid medicines manufacturing facility is one of only two in the world and is able to produce approximately half a metric ton of API annually. The business also operates a cGMP lab-scale facility and a mid-scale cGMP manufacturing facility and offers process development, regulatory support, filings and world-class analytical services.

Biopharmaceuticals.  A broad spectrum of process development and manufacturing services for the production of recombinant proteins and peptides from microbial hosts. Dowpharma recently introduced the next generation of microbial expression technologies for the production of recombinant proteins built around specially designed strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens. Key services include molecular biology, high-expression vector development, analytical method development, process development and process scale up, and cGMP manufacturing.

Plant Biopharmaceuticals. Offers contract development and manufacturing of complex therapeutic proteins and peptides using multiple types of plant transgenic systems in an effort to overcome capacity limitations with lower capital and operating costs. Offers a faster route to production, and provide simpler downstream processing. Dow recently expanded the scope of these efforts through a collaboration with NOBEX Corporation for plant-based production of their proprietary peptide.

BioAqueousSM solubilization services. Addresses complex challenges of poorly bioavailable drug compounds with solutions based on a portfolio of solubilization technologies. Through evaluation of customers' drug compounds, development of tailored solutions for drug solubilization, provision of materials for clinical trials, and licensing of technology we can help our customers successfully develop their drugs.

ChelaMedSM radiopharmaceutical services. Transform new or established targeting proteins or peptides into biotargeted radiopharmaceuticals for detection and treatment of cancer or other diseases. Our product development and technology experience can assist drug discovery companies in the development of these next-generation radiopharmaceuticals. Radiopharmaceutical products Dow has licensed include Quadramet® (153Sm-EDTMP), Iotrex® (125I-HBS) and STR (166Ho-DOTMP).

About Dowpharma
Dowpharma serves the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries with innovative technology, products and services for clients in drug discovery, development, manufacturing and delivery. Dowpharma combines the resources and capabilities of several entities to create a single, market focused organization with broad service and support capabilities for large and emerging pharmaceutical companies.

Dowpharma services include process development, route selection, methods development and associated analytical services as well as manufacturing and scale-up from the bench, through clinical trials, to commercial launch. Dowpharma currently manufactures small molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and intermediates, oligonucleotides, cGMP polymers, and proteins from microbial fermentation.

Dowpharma has an excellent 20-plus year history of cGMP regulatory compliance in the organic synthesis of APIs and pharmaceutical intermediates with the ability to provide client support in filing and validation strategies. The business also manufactures a long list of scaffolds and fine chemicals of interest to the drug development community. Dowpharma operates research, process development and manufacturing facilities in North America and Europe.

Dow also supplies products for use in pharmaceutical formulations, including amino acids, glycerine, organosoluble polymers, water soluble polymers and a wide portfolio of solvents from alcohols, acetates, ketones, ester, chlorinated organics and glycol ethers."

For more information on Dowpharma: www dowpharma.com; for more information on Dow products offered to the pharmaceutical industry.

About The Dow Chemical Company
Dow is a leader in science and technology, providing innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual sales of $33 billion, Dow serves customers in more than 180 countries and a wide range of markets that are vital to human progress, including food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others. Committed to the principles of sustainable development, Dow and its approximately 46,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental and social responsibilities. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.


For Editorial Information:

Kathleen Davis
The Dow Chemical Company
989-636-2760

Josiah McClellan
Gibbs & Soell
212-697-2600