Elsevier MDL and Fisher Biosciences’ Global Chemicals unit collaborate to improve chemical sourcing

San Ramon, CA and Fair Lawn, NJ, August 4, 2006 - Elsevier MDL and the Global Chemicals unit within Fisher Biosciences have signed an agreement that will help researchers in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other industries locate and acquire chemical materials with improved ease and reliability.

The widely used MDL® Available Chemicals Directory and MDL® Screening Compounds Directory databases will be updated with product and pricing information from the popular Fisher Scientific chemical catalogs, including the Fisher Chemical, Acros Organics and Maybridge product lines. The partnership includes a data exchange that simplifies the ordering process for Fisher Biosciences’ proprietary chemical products by referencing the MDL number found in the databases.

“Thousands of researchers around the world find essential chemical building blocks and specialty compounds by searching the MDL Available Chemicals Directory and MDL Screening Compounds Directory,” said Barbara Kunz, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Fisher Biosciences’ Global Chemicals division. “This agreement helps us ensure that our customers have the most accurate information about Fisher Global Chemicals products.”

The partnership covers Fisher Biosciences’ entire proprietary chemical product offering sold under the Acros Organics, Maybridge and Fisher Chemical brands. Acros Organics, a leading brand of organics and fine chemicals, supports research, development and production activities through a broad range of off-the-shelf products and expertise in sourcing, manufacturing and technology partnerships. Maybridge has provided innovative building blocks, custom chemistry services and screening libraries for more than 40 years, accelerating lead identification and optimization for scientists engaged in drug discovery research. Fisher Chemical offers analytical reagents and services for analysis, research and development, scale-up and manufacturing; and its global distribution network delivers reliable products in convenient and safer packaging.

“The Fisher catalogs provide a wide range of chemical materials for scientists involved in chemical synthesis, research and development and manufacturing,” said Trevor Heritage, senior vice president and chief scientific officer at Elsevier MDL. “Our partnership with Fisher facilitates regular updates of their entire proprietary chemical portfolio, and maintains the unmatched coverage of MDL sourcing databases for researchers in search of chemical materials from around the globe.”

The Available Chemicals Directory and the Screening Compounds Directory databases from Elsevier MDL compile detailed product and pricing information for millions of chemical products from hundreds of suppliers. The searchable databases are accessible through the online DiscoveryGate® platform (allowing researchers to view chemical sourcing information linked with synthetic methodology, bioactivity, metabolism, toxicity and health and safety information). They are also available for in-house installation. Researchers can also leverage the value of the Available Chemicals Directory and close supplier relationships with companies like Fisher through the new MDL® Logistics application for sourcing reagents and managing in-house chemical inventories.

About Global Chemicals
The Global Chemicals unit of Fisher Biosciences is a leading provider of chemical technologies for analytical chemistry, research and development and manufacturing. Our Fisher Chemical, Fisher BioReagents®, Acros Organics and Maybridge brands offer reliable, best-in-class products and services that tap our own expertise as well as partnerships with leading chemical providers. Through our extensive distribution network, we deliver flexible, global solutions that help reduce our customers’ costs and improve their efficiency. For more information about our products and services, visit www.fisherbiosci.com.

About Fisher Biosciences
Fisher Biosciences, a unit of Fisher Scientific International Inc., manufactures and supplies a wide range of products and services across the general-chemistry and life-sciences arenas. From fine and high-purity chemicals, clinical diagnostics, proprietary protein-research and cell-culture products, and sterile-liquid-handling systems, to innovative RNA-interference technology and high content screening, Fisher Biosciences serves scientific-research, healthcare, drug-discovery and general industrial customers around the world. Additional information about Fisher Biosciences is available online at www.fisherbiosci.com.

About Elsevier MDL
Elsevier MDL provides informatics, database and workflow solutions that accelerate successful life sciences R&D by improving the speed and quality of scientists’ decision making. Researchers around the world depend on Elsevier MDL for innovative and reliable discovery informatics software solutions and services augmented by 400 Elsevier chemistry and life sciences journals and related products. For more information, visit www.mdl.com. Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. For more information, visit www.elsevier.com.

Elsevier is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a world-leading publisher and information provider. Reed Elsevier’s ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange). For more information, visit www.reedelsevier.com.

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MDL, DiscoveryGate and Available Chemicals Directory are registered trademarks or trademarks of MDL Information Systems, Inc. (‘Elsevier MDL’) in the United States. All rights reserved. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.

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Jean Holt

Senior Director Marketing & Communications

Elsevier MDL

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