ICN's Motion for Summary Judgment Continued for Six Months / Company Notes Insider Trading Allegations Against Chairman Were Never Claimed David Watt, ICN Offic

COSTA MESA, Calif. (PROTEXT) - ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: ICN) and Milan Panic announced today that they would proceed expeditiously to conduct discovery in response to a December 8, 1999, court order continuing for six months their motion for summary judgement seeking dismissal of the complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The SEC had sought the continuance arguing that it had not yet had the opportunity to take discovery in the federal lawsuit. The Court did not address the merits of the summary judgment motion, concluding that the motion was premature. The Court ordered that the summary judgment motion remain pending for six months or until such time that the parties have conducted adequate discovery. ICN attorney Arnold I. Burns stated that, "The SEC conducted over four years of unilateral and unfettered discovery during its investigation. Based upon that investigation, we believe that summary judgment dismissing the case is warranted. While we cannot imagine what additional discovery the SEC requires in order to support its case, we will move forward expeditiously with discovery of our own and seek to have our motion for summary judgment decided as soon as possible." The Court did grant the motion to dismiss the SEC's complaint as against David Watt. It denied, as premature, the motion to strike from the complaint the SEC's request for a director an officer bar order against ICN's Chairman, Milan Panic. Mr. Burns continued, "the SEC's continuing reference to alleged insider sales by Milan Panic is nothing short of disingenuous given that it dropped its insider trading investigation against Mr. Panic, and has not sued him for insider trading." Last year, as anticipated by the 1994 press release at issue in the SEC's suit, the FDA twice approved ribavirin in combination with another drug therapy as a much heralded treatment for chronic hepatitis C, and it is now being successfully marketed. Earlier this year the same treatment was approved for use in the European Union for the treatment of hepatitis C. Since its approval tens of thousands of patients have been treated and ICN has received in excess of $100 million in royalties. ICN is a research-based global pharmaceutical company that manufactures, markets and distributes a broad range of prescription and non-prescription pharmaceuticals under the ICN brand name. ICN has operations in North and Latin America, Western, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Pacific Rim countries. Additional information is also available on the Company's website at http://www.icnpharm.com . The 'Safe Harbor' Statement Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act Of 1995. This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, projections of future sales, operating income, subsidiary reorganization, regulatory approval processes, operations in countries with unstable economies, the progress of FDA reviews, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. ots Original Text Service: ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Ilya Baranikas of ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 714-545-0100, ext. 2202; or Arnold I. Burns, Esq., 212-698-3185, or 212-935-1085, for ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Web site: http://www.icnpharm.com Subscribers please note that material bearing the slug "PROTEXT" is not part of CTK's news service and is not to be published under the "CTK" slug. Protext is a commercial service providing distribution of press releases from clients, who are identified in the text of Protext reports and who bear full responsibility for their contents. PROTEXT