SAN LEANDRO, CA—November 11, 2003— MDL Information Systems, Inc. (MDL), part of Elsevier Life Sciences, announces the launch of MDL® Plate Manager, a new enterprise solution for efficiently tracking, sorting, and managing the vast amount of sample information generated in today's automated biopharmaceutical laboratories. MDL Plate Manager is built on MDL® Isentris™ — the modern, scalable, industry-standard architecture that enables the rapid development and deployment of integrated applications for drug researchers.

"MDL Plate Manager offers a central repository and common interface for managing plate and sample information, thereby reducing the logistical challenges associated with making, screening, and analyzing thousands of chemical entities a day," said Seth Pinsky, senior vice president of R&D and chief technical officer for MDL. "In line with MDL's Isentris™ strategy of integrating scientific information and business processes, MDL Plate Manager facilitates many research roles, enabling biologists to request samples, inventory scientists to build plates, and IT managers to integrate and customize the compound management system to meet specific workflow requirements."

With the goal of enabling researchers to save time, reduce costs, focus on science, and make informed decisions, MDL Plate Manager supports the Isentris™ solution to improved pipeline productivity by:

• Resolving plate supply chain bottlenecks
• Ensuring sample integrity and data quality
• Reducing cycle times and material inventories

MDL Plate Manager increases the efficiency and productivity of research scientists by enabling them to handle more plates faster. Researchers can easily create new plates from existing plates or user-selected samples, reformat plate layouts, adjust concentrations or create dilution series, pool compounds into mixtures, and cherry-pick hits. Powerful data visualization capabilities enable researchers to view multiple sample properties in plate layouts and then drill down to view relevant structure and batch details.

By increasing laboratory throughput and streamlining workflow processes, MDL Plate Manager helps organizations identify better drug candidates faster and more efficiently, saving time and money. With sample data, including plate availability, securely stored in a central Oracle® database, project team members can create plates on a just-in-time basis, reducing duplicate inventory. By accurately tracking the freeze/thaw cycles and shelf life of samples, MDL Plate Manager continuously monitors sample integrity, thereby ensuring data quality and reducing retesting throughout the screening process. The Plate Manager request queue helps inventory scientists to anticipate material demand, prioritize orders, and predict workflows accurately, ultimately shortening cycle times for plate fulfillment.

Because it is built on the MDL Isentris framework utilizing MDL® Core Interface middleware technology and MDL® Direct for structure storage, MDL Plate Manager is fully integrated with MDL data management and chemical registration tools, including MDL® ChemBio AE and MDL® Assay Explorer™. An open, fully documented API enables developers to customize the system to accommodate different workflows while also supporting straightforward integration with lab automation and third-party software.

Discovery research organizations interested in evaluating MDL Plate Manager as an effective solution for managing plate and sample information should contact their MDL account manager or request information using the "Contact Us" form available at www.mdl.com.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Elsevier, Inc., MDL is part of Elsevier Life Sciences. Over 1,000 life science companies supercharge their discovery engines with MDL software solutions to generate fresh ideas and make breakthrough discoveries. By synchronizing and streamlining the sharing and management of vital information and knowledge, MDL enables scientists to work more efficiently and invent drugs faster. MDL is headquartered in San Leandro, CA with offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.mdl.com.

Elsevier Life Sciences combines Elsevier's wide array of life science content products with MDL's extensive informatics, database, workflow, and decision support solutions. This unique combination enables Elsevier Life Sciences to bring unparalleled solutions to researchers, significantly advancing the efficient, cost-effective development of new medicines. Elsevier is a member of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a world-leading publisher and information provider (ticker symbols: REN [Euronext Amsterdam], REL [London Stock Exchange], RUK and ENL [New York Stock Exchange]). For more information, visit www.elsevier.com and www.reedelsevier.com.