Welcome to Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Before touring our website, we would like to give you a quick overview of Alexion.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals is a leading American biotechnology company. We were formed in 1992, listed on NASDAQ in 1996, and as of mid-2007 employ approximately 400 people at our Cheshire headquarters, Smithfield Rhode Island manufacturing plant, and Paris, France European headquarters. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved our first product, Soliris™ (eculizumab), for sale in March, 2007. Soliris™ is indicated for the reduction of hemolysis in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a rare, disabling, and life-threatening blood disorder defined by chronic red blood cell destruction. Soliris™ is the first therapy ever approved for PNH.

Since our founding by scientists from Yale University, other research universities and the pharmaceutical industry, we have held a determined focus on translating cutting edge science into novel therapeutic products. Alexion's strategy is to build on our strong scientific and product development base to develop novel antibody therapeutics targeting the treatment of patients with a wide array of severe disease states, including hematologic diseases, cancer, and autoimmune disorders. Alexion is dedicated to working to develop and deliver life-changing drug therapies for patients with serious and life-threatening medical conditions.

Our clinical efforts have focused on treating disease by blocking formation of the terminal components of complement. Complement is an important and natural part of the human immune system that is comprised of a cascade of proteins, one protein leading to formation of the next. The earlier-formed components of the "complement cascade" are generally beneficial, but the later-formed, or terminal, components can have significant and deleterious effects.

PNH is a rare blood disorder characterized by the onset of severe hemolytic anemia, chronic fatigue and intermittent episodes of dark colored urine, known as hemoglobinuria. Significantly, PNH patients have a markedly increased risk of forming life-threatening blood clots, or thromboses, which are a leading cause of death in this disease. People with PNH produce red blood cells that lack a particular protein that otherwise protects red blood cells from destruction by terminal complement. Soliris™ is a whole antibody, complement inhibitor designed to block production of terminal complement, thereby preventing PNH red blood cell destruction.

Soliris™ is approved by the FDA and currently sold in the United States. We expect to launch Soliris™ in the first European countries near the end of 2007, and in Japan and other key territories thereafter, pending essential approvals from regulatory authorities in each territory. We are implementing infrastructure and strategies to support a world-class launch.

Alexion is actively engaged in discovering and developing a pipeline of additional antibody therapeutics targeting the treatment of patients with severe unmet medical needs. Also, we are investigating the use of eculizumab in indications other than PNH in preclinical studies.

We hope that by investigating our web site, you will learn more about Alexion and our areas of research and development.