MedImmune, Inc. Chairman And Founder Receives Leadership Excellence Award From Robert H. Smith School Of Business

GAITHERSBURG, Md., May 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MedImmune, Inc. announced today that Wayne T. Hockmeyer, Ph.D., MedImmune's chairman and founder, has received the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business 2006 Leadership Excellence Award. Presented at a reception on Thursday, May 4, the award honors a regional business or academic leader who has significantly impacted his or her industry and demonstrated a strong commitment to the mid-Atlantic region.

"We are pleased to present the 2006 Leadership Excellence Award to Dr. Hockmeyer in recognition of his long history of leadership in the community and continued contributions to our region's growth and development," said Howard Frank, dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. "He exemplifies the spirit of the Smith Leadership and Excellence Awards, which honor leaders working to advance business practices and improve their communities."

As MedImmune's chairman, founder, and former chief executive officer, Dr. Hockmeyer has helped guide the company to its current position as the eighth largest biotechnology company in the United States. He is also president of MedImmune Ventures, Inc., the company's wholly owned venture capital subsidiary that invests in promising early- to late-stage biotechnology companies. Dr. Hockmeyer's leadership role extends to the local and regional business community, including his involvement with the Maryland Economic Development Commission and the Governor's Workforce Investment Board (GWIB). He also serves as a director of several public and private biotechnology companies.

"We are proud to see this recognition of Dr. Hockmeyer's exceptional leadership, both as MedImmune's founder and chairman and as a driving force for innovation and growth in the region's biotechnology industry," said David M. Mott, MedImmune's president and chief executive officer. "The values upon which he founded the company in 1988, including high integrity and an entrepreneurial spirit, continue to provide the framework for our corporate culture and serve as an inspiration for our emerging leaders."

The 2006 Smith Leadership and Excellence Awards honorees were selected from nominations submitted by the regional business and academic communities. Finalists were judged by a panel of business and academic leaders that included members of the Smith School Board of Visitors, the Dean's Advisory Council, faculty and staff.

About MedImmune and MedImmune Ventures, Inc.

MedImmune strives to provide better medicines to patients, new medical options for physicians, rewarding careers to employees, and increased value to shareholders. Dedicated to advancing science and medicine to help people live better lives, the company is focused on the areas of infectious diseases, cancer and inflammatory diseases. With more than 2,200 employees worldwide, MedImmune is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

MedImmune Ventures, Inc. is a wholly owned venture capital subsidiary of MedImmune, Inc. It was created in 2002 to leverage the company's expertise in discovering, developing and commercializing biotechnology products, as well as its financial resources, to transform new ideas in biotechnology into successful products and companies. MedImmune Ventures invests in early- to late-stage, public or private biotechnology companies focused on discovering and developing human therapeutics. It primarily seeks to invest in areas of strategic interest to MedImmune, including infectious disease, immunology and oncology.

For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.medimmune.com.

CONTACT: Kate Barrett of MedImmune, Inc., +1-301-398-4320

Web site: http://www.medimmune.com//