National Synchrotron Project Attracts Pharmaceutical GroupAs First Industrial Investor

Posted February 26, 2001


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 1:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 26, 2001
2001-02-21-OTHER

National Synchrotron Project Attracts Pharmaceutical Group
As First Industrial Investor

-- Saskatchewan government also commits matching money

SASKATOON, SK. Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world's leading
pharmaceutical firms, has become the first industrial company to invest in a
beamline at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) synchrotron project now under
construction on the University of Saskatchewan campus.

University of Saskatchewan President Peter MacKinnon and Dr. Paul Anderson,
Senior Vice-President R&D of Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd., made the
announcement today at a special event to mark completion of the
stadium-sized building that will house Canada's first state-of-the-art
synchrotron.

Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd., a subsidiary of the multinational
Boehringer Ingelheim group of companies, will contribute $500,000 over the
next five years toward the cost of a beamline (conduit for carrying
synchrotron light to experimental work stations) and related facilities.
Saskatchewan Economic and Co-operative Development will match this sum.

The beamline will be used for protein crystallography which involves using
synchrotron light to study protein crystals, research which can lead to the
design of new drugs. With a synchrotron, scientists can determine crystal
structures in weeks to months instead of months to years.

"We're delighted to receive this beamline contribution from Boehringer
Ingelheim which we expect will be the first of many from companies that
recognize the benefits of using synchrotron science to develop new products
and solve industrial problems," said MacKinnon.

Anderson said, "At Boehringer Ingelheim, we are extremely pleased to
contribute to the construction of this state-of-the art research facility.
The protein crystallography beamline will be an invaluable tool for our
scientists and other Canadian researchers. This investment is a further
example of our commitment to research and development in Canada."

The first light will shine down the beamlines in January of 2004.
Construction of the $173.5-million national facility is on time and on
budget.

Funding is now in place for half a dozen beamlines. CLS is seeking
additional capital investment partnerships to build the full complement of
more than 30 beamlines. Each beamline costs about $5 million and is
dedicated to a different type of synchrotron science.

A synchrotron is a huge, donut-shaped ring that accelerates a stream of
electrons and manipulates them to create a beam of light billions of times
brighter than the sun. This rare light can then be used by industrial and
university researchers as a revolutionary new tool to observe structures and
chemical reactions at a molecular level.

The CLS is owned by the U of S. CLS construction is mainly funded by the
Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Canadian government, the Saskatchewan
government, the Ontario Innovation Trust, the Alberta government, the
University of Saskatchewan, the City of Saskatoon and SaskPower.

The Boehringer Ingelheim group of companies, with headquarters in Ingelheim
(Germany), is one of the 20 leading pharmaceutical firms in the world and
reported revenues of almost DEM 10 billion in 1999. Substantial research and
development, production, and distribution facilities are located around the
globe. In 1999, Boehringer Ingelheim spent DEM 1.6 billion on R&D,
equivalent to 16% of total sales. As a research-driven company, Boehringer
Ingelheim has R&D centres in Argentina, Austria, Canada, Germany, Japan,
USA.

Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. is one of the fastest growing
pharmaceutical companies in Canada. The company has a major research and
development centre in Laval, Quebec, making Boehringer Ingelheim one of the
largest Canadian investors in pharmaceutical research and development. For
more information on Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd., please visit
www.boehringer-ingelheim.ca.

For more information on the CLS, visit www.cls.usask.ca.

Contact information:

Kathryn Warden
Research Communications Officer
University of Saskatchewan
Tel: (306) 966-2506
Fax: (306) 966-2411
kathryn.warden@usask.ca
www.cls.usask.ca

Nicole Gareau
Coordinator, Communications
Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd./Lt饊Research and Development
Tel: (450) 682-4640 ext. 4301
Fax: (450) 682-6279
ngareau@lav.boehringer-ingelheim.com
www.boehringer-ingelheim.ca